Ethyl levulinate is an organic compound with the formula CH3C(O)CH2CH2C(O)OC2H5. It is an ester derived from the keto acid levulinic acid. Ethyl levulinate can also be obtained by reaction between ethanol and furfuryl alcohol.[3] These two synthesis options make ethyl levulinate a viable biofuel option, since both precursors can be obtained from biomass: levulinic acid from 6-carbon polymerized sugars such as cellulose, and furfural from 5-carbon polymerized sugars such as xylan and arabinan.
References
- ^ The Merck Index, (2013), Monograph M5144, O'Neil: The Royal Society of Chemistry. Available online at: https://www.rsc.org/Merck-Index/monograph/m5144
- ^ "Metabocard for Ethyl levulinate". Human Metabolite Database.
- ^ Leal Silva, Jean Felipe; Grekin, Rebecca; Mariano, Adriano Pinto; Maciel Filho, Rubens (2018). "Making Levulinic Acid and Ethyl Levulinate Economically Viable: A Worldwide Technoeconomic and Environmental Assessment of Possible Routes". Energy Technology. 6 (4): 613–639. doi:10.1002/ente.201700594. ISSN 2194-4296.