Production of Glucosamine from Chitin by Co-solvent Promoted Hydrolysis and Deacetylation.

Production of renewable chemicals with established market and high value is highly desirable in biomass utilization. Herein, glucosamine, an amino sugar with various applications, was generated in a single step by the acid-catalyzed transformation of chitin. Aprotic polar solvents were mixed with water to promote the hydrolysis as well as the deacetylation reactions, significantly enhancing product yield and/or reducing the concentration and amount of acid catalyst required. By employing the optimized co-solvent system, glucosamine was achieved with 80% yield at 175 °C in 1h from ball-milled chitin, in sharp contrast with the pure water system with the same acid concentration in which less than 1% glucosamine was obtained. Correlations between the promotional effect and various solvent property parameters were discussed and proposed, providing guidance on the choice of solvent for further optimization of the co-solvent system for similar applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]