GLUCOSE HYDROLYSIS AND OXIDATION IN SUPERCRITICAL WATER

Glucose hydrolysis and oxidation occurred rapidly in supercritical water at 246 bar and at 425 to 600 degrees C. A diverse set of products, present in the liquid-phase reactor effluent and also subject to hydrolysis, was formed. At 600 degrees C and a 6-s reactor residence time, glucose is completely gasified, even in the absence of oxygen. In the presence of oxygen, destruction of liquid-phase products is enhanced, with none found above 550 degrees C at a 6-s reactor residence time. Major products formed were acetic acid, acetonylacetone, propenoic acid, and acetaldehyde in the liquid phase, and carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, ethane, ethylene, and hydrogen in the gas phase. Methane and hydrogen were present among the products at temperatures up to 600 degrees C for reactor residence times of 6 s.