Preparation of energy platform chemicals by hydrothermal conversion of citrus peel

In recent years, there has been a great interest in the conversion from agricultural waste to high value-added chemicals. Citrus peel is a low-cost and widely available waste resource that can be derived during citrus processing. In this study, we analyzed the composition of typical citrus peel and its hydrolysate. The hydrothermal conversion of citrus peel in different reaction conditions was also studied, and the optimum conditions for the preparation of levulinic acid and furfural were obtained. The maximum yield of levulinic acid was 21.9 wt% obtained in pure water, and the maximum yield of furfural was 9.1 wt% obtained in the water-DMSO solvent mixture. With the increase in the reaction temperature, the yield of furfural decreased while the yield of levulinic acid increased.