Publications by Ydna Marie Questell-Santiago

Catalyst Evolution Enhances Production of Xylitol from Acetal-Stabilized Xylose

Jeremy Luterbacher, Masoud Talebi Amiri, Ydna Marie Questell-Santiago, Benjamin Pierre Le Monnier, Jher Hau Yeap

We demonstrate a catalytic process for xylitol production based on the volatility and unique reactivity of diformylxylose (DFX), which can be produced at near theoretical yield from biomass and, contrary to xylose, can be easily purified by distillation. T ...

2020

Stabilization strategies in biomass depolymerization using chemical functionalization

Jeremy Luterbacher, Ydna Marie Questell-Santiago

A central feature of most lignocellulosic-biomass-valorization strategies is the depolymerization of all its three major constituents: cellulose and hemicellulose to simple sugars, and lignin to phenolic monomers. However, reactive intermediates, generally ...

2020

Fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass to produce uncondensed aldehyde-stabilized lignin

Jeremy Luterbacher, Masoud Talebi Amiri, Ydna Marie Questell-Santiago, Graham Reid Dick

Lignin is one of the most promising sources of renewable aromatic hydrocarbons. Current methods for its extraction from lignocellulosic biomass—which include the kraft, sulfite, and organosolv processes—result in the rapid formation of carbon–carbon bonds, ...

2019

Establishing Lignin Structure-Upgradeability Relationships Using Quantitative 1H-13C Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (HSQC-NMR) Spectroscopy

Jeremy Luterbacher, Masoud Talebi Amiri, Ydna Marie Questell-Santiago, Stefania Bertella

Lignin depolymerization could provide an attractive renewable aromatic feedstock for the chemical industry. Past studies have suggested that lignin structural features such as ether content are correlated to lignin’s upgradeability. An obstacle to the deve ...

2019

Production, characterization and upgrading of biomass-derived acetal-stabilized carbohydrates

Ydna Marie Questell-Santiago

Biomass is an attractive source of renewable carbon-based fuels and chemicals. Multiple research efforts are centered around integrated biorefineries, where all fractions of biomass are converted to fuels or chemical products. These efforts are focused aro ...

EPFL2019

Catalytic valorization of the acetate fraction of biomass to aromatics and its integration into the carboxylate platform

Jeremy Luterbacher, Masoud Talebi Amiri, Ydna Marie Questell-Santiago, Benjamin Pierre Le Monnier, Jher Hau Yeap, Bartosz Rozmyslowicz, Ahmed Mohamed Ibrahim Elkhaiary

In many plant species, the acetate fraction is the fourth most prominent fraction by weight after cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, and can be easily extracted as a single stable molecule, acetic acid, at high yields. Despite this, upgrading the acetate ...

2019

Carbohydrate stabilization extends the kinetic limits of chemical polysaccharide depolymerization

Jeremy Luterbacher, Masoud Talebi Amiri, Ydna Marie Questell-Santiago, Raquel Zambrano Varela

Polysaccharide depolymerization is an essential step for valorizing lignocellulosic biomass. In inexpensive systems such as pure water or dilute acid mixtures, carbohydrate monomer degradation rates exceed hemicellulose—and especially cellulose—depolymeriz ...

2018

Formaldehyde stabilization facilitates lignin monomer production during biomass depolymerization

Jeremy Luterbacher, Yiming Li, Florent Emmanuel Héroguel, Masoud Talebi Amiri, Ydna Marie Questell-Santiago, Li Shuai

Practical, high-yield lignin depolymerization methods could greatly increase biorefinery productivity and profitability. However, development of these methods is limited by the presence of interunit carbon-carbon bonds within native lignin, and further by ...

American Association for the Advancement of Science2016

A mild biomass pretreatment using gamma-valerolactone for concentrated sugar production

Jeremy Luterbacher, Ydna Marie Questell-Santiago, Li Shuai

Here we report that gamma-valerolactone (GVL), a biomass-derived solvent, can be used to facilitate the mild pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass. An 80% GVL, 20% water solvent system was used to pretreat hardwood at the mild temperature of 120 degrees ...

Royal Society of Chemistry2016