Dexby de Guzman, Rizalinda de Leon^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.1, pp. 145-162, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.011646 - 30 November 2020

Abstract Levulinic acid (LA) is a platform biorefinery chemical from biomass which can be converted to green solvents, plasticizers, polymer precursors, bio-based cleaning agents, fuels and fuel additives. This study assessed the potential of SnCl₂-based mixed acid systems as catalyst in the hydrothermal conversion of microcrystalline cellulose to levulinic acid. Maximum LA yield of 36.2 mol% was achieved using 0.2 M SnCl₂ concentration at test conditions of 3 h, 180°C and 1% w/v cellulose loading. To reduce precipitate formation and further improve LA yield, the strategy employed was to combine SnCl₂ (a Lewis acid) with conventional mineral acids… More >

MD. ROBYUL ISLAM^1,4, TAHIA NAZNIN², DIPALI RANI GUPTA³, MD. ASHRAFUL HAQUE¹, MIRZA HASANUZZAMAN^3,*, MD. MOTIAR ROHMAN^4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 713-730, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011812 - 24 December 2020

Abstract The current study investigated the comparative oxidative damage in two maize seedlings induced by saline, drought, and combined stress and the ameliorative role of two different doses (20 and 80 µM) of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) against the above-mentioned stresses. Hydroponically grown 10-day-old maize (Zea mays, var. BARI Hybrid Maize-7 (BHM-7) and BARI Hybrid Maize-9 (BHM-9)) seedlings were exposed to 12 dS/m of saline solution, 200 mM mannitol-induced drought stress alone and their combined stress for 7 days. Result revealed that individual stresses retard the plant growth to some degrees; however, their combined stress has more detrimental… More >

Md. Anwar Hossain^1,2, Lee Hwei Voon^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.8, pp. 731-748, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.04703

Abstract Synthesizing polyol-based ester from biomass feedstocks for the preparation of biolubricant overcomes the dependence on petroleum oil usage. Albeit biomass-derived bio-oil is an alternative for the production of polyol ester, upgrading is essential prior to use as biolubricant. Levulinic acid (LA), obtained from bio-oil was applied for the catalytic esterification with two polyols, e.g., trimethylolpropane (TMP) and pentaerythritol (PE), in the presence of mixed-ligand Ni(II), Co(II), and Fe(II) complexes as catalyst. New mixed-ligand coordination complexes with empirical formula; [Ni(Phe)(Bpy)Cl].H2O, [Co(Phe)(Bpy)Cl].H2O, and [Fe(Phe)(Tyr)Cl].H2O were synthesized by the reaction of ligands [L-phenylalanine (Phe), 4,4'-bipyridine (Bpy), and L-tyrosine More >