In this project, we have demonstrated and developed a multi-step catalytic process for production of 1,5-PDO and 1,6-HDO starting from white birch as shown in Scheme 1. First, lignocellulosic biomass was converted into cellulose, furfural and solid lignin via the TriVersa ProcessTM developed by Glucan Biorenewables LLC. GlucanBio fractionated biomass into a solid high purity stream of cellulose (>
90% purity and >
90% recovery) and a concentrated liquid phase of solubilized hemicellulose (>
90% of hemicellulose solubilized) in Task A (See Table 1). The hemicellulose was then converted into furfural (>
85% yield) without any purification step. Furfural was converted into 1,5-PDO by four catalytic steps as shown in Scheme 1 in Task B1-3(See Table 1): i) Furfural was hydrogenated into THFA, ii) THFA was dehydrated to dihydropyran (DHP), iii) DHP was hydrated to 2-hydroxytetrahydropyran (2-HY-THP) and 2-HY-THP dimers and 4) 5-hydoxyvaleraldehyde (5-HY-Val) was hydrogenated into 1,5-PDO. This pathway will be referred to in this report as the dehydration, hydration, and hydrogenation (DHH) route. A total yield of >
80% 1,5-PDO was achieved via this new DHH pathway, which surpasses the >
50% 1,5-PDO yields over traditional noble catalysts.