Highly Efficient Synthesis Of C5/C6 Sugar Alcohols From Bamboo Enabled By Mechanocatalytic Depolymerization

The exploitation of an efficient method for direct conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into various high valuable chemicals remains a huge challenge in the chemical industry. Here, mechanocatalytic depolymerization in the presence of H2SO4 combined with hydrogenation with Ru/C was used to produce C5/C6 sugar alcohols starting from bamboo, which are important platform chemicals. A high yield of C5/C6 sugar alcohols was obtained, up to 91.9%, under optimal reaction conditions. The pretreatment improved the conversion and yield of the desired products by effective depolymerization of bamboo into oligosaccharides through "dry" acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of 1,4-beta-glycosidic bonds. It was found that the state of Ru species significantly influenced the activity of the Ru/C catalyst. The Ru/C catalyst containing Ru and RuO2 species with the RuO2/Ru ratio of 0.56-1.44 exhibited high catalytic activity in the transformation of bamboo into C5/C6 sugar alcohols. This work provided an effective and potential route to utilize bamboo processing residues to produce high-valued chemicals.