Simultaneous Acid-Catalyzed Reaction of Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Coir

Dust in Ethanol Media for the Production of Ethyl Levulinate

Raw Material: Coconut coir dust
During

the

processing

of

the

thick,

fibrous

mesocarp (husks) of the coconut fruit to produce

coir

fiber,

spongy,

peat

like

residue

is

simultaneously generated. This waste stream which

is typically consists of short fibers (<2cm) around
2%-13% of the total and cork-like particles ranging
from granules to fine dust are called coir dust. The
fiber is used for the manufacturing of ropes, carpets, mats and related products
while the fall off materials (coir dust) remain available as waste stream of no
industrial value and are normally incinerated or dumped without control (Israel et
al., 2011).
Table 1. Typical Chemical Composition of Coconut Husk (Dry Basis)
OLD
NUT YOUNG NUT VERY
YOUNG
(%)
(%)
NUT (%)
Water soluble substances
26
29
38. 50
Pectin, others soluble in boiling water
14. 25
14. 85
15. 25
Hemicelluloses
8.5
8.15
9. 00
Lignin
29. 33
31. 64
20. 13
Cellulose
23. 87
19. 26
14. 39
Reference: Tejano, E. A., 1985

Intensive researches were currently developed in order to utilize this

agricultural by-product and in the Philippines, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA)
in Diliman, Quezon City took the major step in exploiting the potential of coir dust.
Among these were extended fillers for plywood adhesives ( Chan, F.D., 1985),
cement additives (Lauricio, F.M., 1984), biosorbent (Manas et al., 1990), particle
board (Mari, E. L., 1985)

In 2012, the Philippines exported more than 1.5-million metric tonnes of

copra, coconut oil, copra meal, desiccated coconut, coco shell charcoal, activated
carbon and coco chemicals, a slight 1.49 per cent increase compared to the volume
exported in 2011. There are 3.5 million hectares dedicated to coconut production in
the Philippines, which accounts for 25 per cent of total agricultural land in the
country. The Philippines ranks near the top in global coconut production with over
15 billion nuts produced per year (Philippine Coconut Authority, 2012). For coconut
farm producing 10,000 nuts annualy has the potential of 3,600 kg of husks and
2,300 kg of coir dust (Philippine Coconut Authority, 2001). From this figure, a total of
3.45 x 109 kg coir dust can be produced and this quantity is of great significance for
the said waste stream to be utilized into useful products.

Cellulose and hemicellulose fraction of this biomass feedstock (old nut

is much preferred, see Table 1) was the main properties needed for the
production of ethyl levulinate. This fraction will produce value-added sugar,
glucose and hexose, respectively that will undergone through series of acidcatalyzed reaction in an ethanol media in order to produce ethyl levulinate.
List of Coconut Processing Industry in the Philippines
SC Global Food Products Inc.
Peter Paul Philippine Corp.
Address (office): 2601 Jollibee Plaza

Address: Barrio Pahinga, Candelaria,

Building, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas

Quezon Province

Center, Pasig City, Philippines 1605

Telephone: (02) 633-5978/ 79

Telephone: (632) 635-4020

(02) 633-6391/ 92

Fax: (632) 635-4007

Fax: (02) 633-9883/ 84

Email: salesinq@peterpaul.com.ph

United

Coconut

Chemicals,

Inc.

Tantuco Enterprises, Inc.

(COCOCHEM)

Address:

663 J. Rizal Street cor. C.

Address: CAIP-SEZ San Antonio, San

Castanada

Street,

Pascual Batangas, Philippines

Philippines 1501

Trunkline: (6343) 727-1511

Telephone: (632) 531-9071 - 74

(6343) 984-1602-03
Email: www.cocochem.ph

Mandaluyong

Fax: (632) 532-1722

Email:tantuco@mindgate.com.ph/
tantuco_ent@yahoo.com

City,

Reference: PLDT yellow pages

Experimental Flow Chart

Coconut Coir Dust Collection

and Chemicals Preparation

Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis of
Coconut Coir Dust on
Ethanol Media

Pre-Conditioning of Raw
Material

Drying of Conditioned
Coconut Coir Dust
Testing for the Composition of
Dried Bagasse, TGA
Centrifugation for the Removal of
Insoluble Materials, Humins
Testing of the Solution
Components by HPLC

Solvent Extraction

Acid Catalyst and Solvent is

Recovered via Evaporation and
Recycled back to the Process

Purification of Ethyl
Levulinate

Quality Product Assurance

Coconut coir dust was collected and washed to remove adhering dirt and
sand and undergone size reduction. Testing, such as Thermal Gravimetric Analysis

(TGA),

is

employed

to

determine

the

chemical

composition

(cellulose,

hemicelluloses, lignin, and ash).

Simultaneous acid-catalyzed reaction will be employed. The first phase
will be the delignification of the biomass feedstock via acid-catalyzed hydrolysis in
order to remove the lignin content of the material. The cellulose and hemicelluloses
content will be synthesized by the same acid catalyst to yield glucose and hexose,
respectively. These sugars will then undergone dehydration reaction to produce 5hydroxymethylfurfural and by decomposition reaction will yield levulinic acid, an
intermediate chemical in the production of ethyl levulinate. Each run of tests started
the ethanol medium heated to a salt bath to the desired temperature. After a
specified reaction time, the reaction was terminated by rapid immersion of the
reactor into a cool, ice water bath. The liquid phase was separated from the solids
by filtration. Afterward, a sample was neutralized and subsequently centrifuged to
obtain a particle-free solution. The composition of the particle-free solution was
determined (using high performance liquid chromatography, HPLC).
The aqueous mixture containing the acid catalyst and ethyl levulinate
is then contacted with a water-immiscible solvent to obtain the extract containing
the product and raffinate having the acid catalyst. The latter will be recycled to be
used in the hydrolysis of raw material. The extraction solvent is separated from the
ethyl levulinate by evaporating it and collecting its condensate, and recycling back
to extraction column. Further concentration and purification of ethyl levulinate is
carried out in a fractionation unit (vacuum distillation). Almost two-third (approx.
66.67% conversion) of the carbohydrate content of the feedstock is expected to
be converted to ethyl levulinate, the remaining is for the formation of insoluble
material, humins.

Bibliography
Chan, F. D., (1985). Development of Extender Filler for Plywood Adhesives
from Coconut Coir Dust. Terminal Report. FPRDI.

Lauricio, F. M., (1984). Utilization of Coconut Coirdust as Building Material

(Hollow Block). Terminal Report. FPRDI.

Manas, A. E., M. S. S., Romana, and A. S. Torres, (1990). Utilization Coconut Coir
Dust for Water Treatment and Recovery of Heavy Metals. Terminal Report.
FPRDI.
Mari, E. L., (1985). Development Coco-Coil' Dust Wood Particle board by
Graft Polymerization. Terminal Report. FPRDI.

Philippine Coconut Authority. Official Page. www.pca.da.gov.ph/

Philippine Coconut Authority (2001).

Utilization of Cocopeat

in Coconut

Production. Zamboanga Research Center, Davao City.

Tejano, E.A.,(1985). State of the Art of Coconut Coir Dust and Husk
Utilization. Philippine Journal of Coconut Studies, Quezon City.
Xu, G.Z, C. Chang, W. Zhu, B. Li, X. Ma and F. Du (2013) A Comparative Study on
the Direct Production of Ethyl Levulinate from Glucose in Ethanol Media
Catalyzed by Different Acid Catalyst.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.2478%2Fs11696-013-0410-0#page-1