Efficient conversion of glucosamine to ethyl levulinate catalyzed by methanesulfonic acid

This study is focused on the possibility of using crustacean waste shells for sustainable biofuels and chemical production. We investigated the synthesis of ethyl levulinate (EL) from glucosamine by the methanesulfonic acidcatalyzed hydrothermal reaction using Box-Behnken design. In the ethyl levulinate synthesis, higher water content highly inhibited the formation of EL. Among the reaction factors, reaction temperature, catalyst concentration, and reaction time positively affected the outcome more than substrate concentration. The optimized reaction conditions were 200 °C reaction temperature, 60 g/L substrate concentration, 0.75 M catalyst concentration, and 44.9 min. Under these conditions, a 22.76 mol% EL yield was achieved. These results suggest that crustacean waste shells can be used for renewable feedstocks to produce valuable chemicals and biofuels.