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Title: Catalytic amino acid production from biomass-derived intermediates

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [5]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [6];  [2];  [3];  [7]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. National Univ. of Singapore (Singapore). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Xiamen Univ., Xiamen (China). State Key Lab. for Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
  2. National Univ. of Singapore (Singapore). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
  3. Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Graduate School of Engineering, Dept. of Molecular Engineering; Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Elements Strategy Initiative for Catalysts & Batteries
  4. King Abdullah Univ. of Science Technology, Thuwal (Saudi Arabia). Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center, Physical Sciences and Engineering Division
  5. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States). National Bioenergy Center
  6. Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne (Switzlerland). Inst. des Sciences et Ingenierie Chimiques
  7. Xiamen Univ., Xiamen (China). State Key Lab. for Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Amino acids are the building blocks for protein biosynthesis and find use in myriad industrial applications including in food for humans, in animal feed, and as precursors for bio-based plastics, among others. However, the development of efficient chemical methods to convert abundant and renewable feedstocks into amino acids has been largely unsuccessful to date. To that end, here we report a heterogeneous catalyst that directly transforms lignocellulosic biomass-derived a-hydroxyl acids into a-amino acids, including alanine, leucine, valine, aspartic acid, and phenylalanine in high yields. The reaction follows a dehydrogenation-reductive amination pathway, with dehydrogenation as the rate-determining step. Ruthenium nanoparticles supported on carbon nanotubes (Ru/CNT) exhibit exceptional efficiency compared with catalysts based on other metals, due to the unique, reversible enhancement effect of NH3 on Ru in dehydrogenation. Based on the catalytic system, a two-step chemical process was designed to convert glucose into alanine in 43% yield, comparable with the well-established microbial cultivation process, and therefore, the present strategy enables a route for the production of amino acids from renewable feedstocks. Moreover, a conceptual process design employing membrane distillation to facilitate product purification is proposed and validated. Overall, this study offers a rapid and potentially more efficient chemical method to produce amino acids from woody biomass components.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Sustainable Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office
Grant/Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1437219
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5100-71523
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 115, Issue 20; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 127 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (23)

Catalytic Synthesis of N -(5-Methylfurfuryl)aniline from Bio-Derived Carbohydrates journal January 2019
Catalytic Production of Alanine from Waste Glycerol journal December 2019
Catalytic Production of Alanine from Waste Glycerol journal February 2020
Catalytic Synthesis of 2,5‐Furandicarboxylic Acid from Concentrated 2,5‐Diformylfuran Mediated by N ‐hydroxyimides under Mild Conditions journal August 2019
Single‐Site Molybdenum Catalyst for the Synthesis of Fumarate journal July 2019
Protein‐Rich Biomass Waste as a Resource for Future Biorefineries: State of the Art, Challenges, and Opportunities journal April 2019
Efficient and Selective Oxidation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural into 2, 5-Diformylfuran Catalyzed by Magnetic Vanadium-Based Catalysts with Air as Oxidant journal November 2019
Biochemical coupling strategy promotes saccharification of bamboo leaves biomass via xylanase and heteropolyacids journal October 2019
N-formyl-stabilizing quasi-catalytic species afford rapid and selective solvent-free amination of biomass-derived feedstocks journal February 2019
Amination of β-hydroxyl acid esters via cooperative catalysis enables access to bio-based β-amino acid esters journal November 2019
Oxidant free conversion of alcohols to nitriles over Ni-based catalysts journal January 2019
Conversion of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone over Ru/Al 2 O 3 –TiO 2 catalyst under mild conditions journal January 2018
One-pot conversion of lysine to caprolactam over Ir/H-Beta catalysts journal January 2019
Synthesis of gasoline and jet fuel range cycloalkanes and aromatics from poly(ethylene terephthalate) waste journal January 2019
Synthesis of jet fuel range high-density polycycloalkanes with polycarbonate waste journal January 2019
Catalytic oxidative dehydrogenation of malic acid to oxaloacetic acid journal January 2019
Upgrading of levulinic acid into diverse N-containing functional chemicals journal January 2019
Cellulose conversion into lactic acid over supported HPA catalysts journal January 2019
Surface amino-functionalization of Sn-Beta zeolite catalyst for lactic acid production from glucose journal January 2019
Direct conversion of phenols into primary anilines with hydrazine catalyzed by palladium journal January 2019
Self-supported hydrogenolysis of aromatic ethers to arenes journal November 2019
Oxidant free conversion of alcohols to nitriles over Ni-based catalysts text January 2019
Catalyst: Is the Amino Acid a New Frontier for Biorefineries? journal April 2019

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