Conversion of Biomass-Derived Levulinic Acid into γ-Valerolactone Using Methanesulfonic Acid: An Optimization Study Using Response Surface Methodology

γ-Valerolactone (GVL) is a platform chemical for the synthesis of both biofuels and biochemicals. The LA production from depithed sugarcane bagasse (DSB) resulted in a 55% LA yield, and the resulting LA was used to produce GVL. The effect of process parameters, namely, temperature (25–200 °C), time (2–10 h), and catalyst loading (0.5–5 g) were investigated for the GVL production from LA. Thereafter, the optimized conditions were used to produce GVL from LA derived from depithed sugarcane bagasse (DSB) yielded a GVL of 77.6%. The hydrogen required for the reduction of LA to GVL was formed in situ by formic acid and triethylamine in the presence of methanesulfonic acid (MsOH). Different solvents (including water and alcohols) were also tested to determine their effect on GVL yield, and water yielded the highest GVL of 78.6%. Different types of catalysts, which included mineral acids and ionic liquids, were used to determine their effect on GVL yield, and to provide a benchmark against MsOH. The GVL yield from DSB-derived LA is 1.0% lower than the GVL yield from a commercial sample of LA. LA generated from DSB has the potential to replace fossil fuel-derived LA.