Characterization of dicarboxylic acids for cellulose hydrolysis
N S Mosier1, A Sarikaya, C M Ladisch
1Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
Abstract:
In this paper, we show that dilute maleic acid, a dicarboxylic acid, hydrolyzes cellobiose, the repeat unit of cellulose, and the microcrystalline cellulose Avicel as effectively as dilute sulfuric acid but with minimal glucose degradation. Maleic acid, superior to other carboxylic acids reported in this paper, gives higher yields of glucose that is more easily fermented as a result of lower concentrations of degradation products. These results are especially significant because maleic acid, in the form of maleic anhydride, is widely available and produced in large quantities annually.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Physical Properties of Carboxylic Acids
Loss of Carboxy Group as CO2: Decarboxylation of Malonic Acid Derivatives
Reactions of Carboxylic Acids: Introduction
Loss of Carboxy Group as CO2: Decarboxylation of β-Ketoacids
Acid Halides to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis
As shown below, the mechanism involves a nucleophilic attack by water at the carbonyl carbon to form a tetrahedral intermediate. This is followed by the reformation of the carbon–oxygen π bond along with the departure of a halide ion. A final proton transfer step yields carboxylic acid...
IUPAC Nomenclature of Carboxylic Acids
For acyclic saturated monocarboxylic acids, the longest hydrocarbon chain containing the –COOH carbon is identified as the parent chain. Then, the last -e of the parent hydrocarbon name is replaced with a suffix -oic acid.


