Marta Lara Serrano

@icp.csic.es

Grupo de Energía y Química Sostenibles
Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica (ICP-CSIC)

Marta Lara Serrano


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https://researchid.co/martalaraserrano
Researcher with 8 years of experience in 3 projects on lignocellulosic biomass treatment and obtaining high-added value products. Expert in developing and implementing strategies to optimize analytical processes, using techniques for analysis and characterization, to ensure the quality of results. Ability to lead projects and meet established deadlines. Passionate about fostering a collaborative environment driven by excellence, constantly seeking opportunities to improve efficiency and accuracy in results.

EDUCATION

Doctorado en Química Aplicada por la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Máster en Ciencia y Tecnología Química por la Universidad de Educación a Distancia
Máster en Ciencias Forenses. Especialidad: Criminalística por la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Grado en Química por la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Catalysis, Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, Process Chemistry and Technology

FUTURE PROJECTS

BIOVINESHOOT (PID2020-112594RB-C33)

The general objective of the BioVineShoot project is to achieve a comprehensive fractionation of vine shoots into their main components, and to carry out their subsequent valorization into bioenergy and bioproducts through chemical and biochemical conversion processes, integrated into a biorefinery strategy. This approach thus aims to contribute to the development of the bioeconomy in rural areas with high availability of this residual biomass resource and to the challenge of generating clean, safe and sustainable energy.


Applications Invited
Fractionation and valorization of vine shoots through a biorefinery strategy.
12

Scopus Publications

Scopus Publications

  • OrganoCat fractionation of vine shoots for coproduction of bioethanol, furfural, and lignin
    Marta Lara-Serrano, Silvia Morales-delaRosa, Jose M. Campos-Martín, Inmaculada Romero, Eulogio Castro, Jose M. Oliva, Paloma Manzanares
    Industrial Crops and Products, 2025
    Treatment of vine shoots with the OrganoCat method, using a mixture of oxalic acid (0.1 M) in water and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (1:1) at 140 °C for three hours, allowed a separation of the lignocellulosic biomass into three fractions: an undissolved pulp, an aqueous solution and a solid obtained by evaporation of the organic phase. The resulting pulp was enriched in cellulose with greater crystallinity than the initial one due to the dissolution of the amorphous part, which facilitated enzymatic digestion and produced a significantly high glucose content, close to 70 g/L, and an excellent substrate for ethanol production, reaching levels of 35 g/L. Lignin, was recovered from the organic phase, and hemicellulose-derived sugars in the aqueous phase were converted into furfural (64 % yield from xylose) and ethanol (98 % yield from glucose). Overall, we demonstrate that the OrganoCat method allows an interesting fractionation of the shoots and also enables the full utilization of the obtained fractions that can be efficiently transformed into high-value renewable products such as bioethanol, furfural and high-purity lignin, highlighting the potential of the method as a promising pretreatment technique for the valorization of lignocellulosic biomass. • OrganoCat is an effective fractionation method for the valorization of vine shoots. • All fractions can be transformed efficiently to biofuels and bioproducts. • Hemicellulosic fraction is converted to bioethanol (98 %) and furfural (64 %). • Pulp fraction is efficiently converted to bioethanol (33 g/L, 70 % yield).
  • Catalytic conversion into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural by heterogeneous sulfonic acid catalysis in a flowing acetone–water system
    Daniela M. Sboiu, María Dolores Márquez-Medina, Marta Lara-Serrano, Silvia Morales-delaRosa, Jose M. Campos-Martin
    Fuel, 2024
    • Acetone presence as solvent enhances the selectivity to furans. • Furans from sugars can be obtained with a continuous flow reactor with a solid catalyst. • The TON of the catalysts depends on the hydrophobicity of the surface. • Acetone recycling allows the use of high sugar concentrations in water. The dehydration of sugars (fructose, glucose, and xylose) was studied using different resins and silicas functionalized with sulfonic as catalysts and a mixture of acetone/water 80:20 as the solvent in a flow system. The reaction conditions (temperature, sugar concentration, and residence time) were studied. The high concentrations of acetone in the solvent favor selectivity for furan compounds but difficult the solubility of the sugars The activity tests revealed different behaviors between acid catalysts employed, catalysts based on resins are more active, but the intrinsic activity (TOF) of silica-based catalysts are higher, these behavior are related with the amount of sulfonic groups and surface nature of the catalysts respectively. A life study (more than 100 h) of selected catalysts was carried out showing that the resin-based catalysts are pretty stable, but the silica counterpart deactivates by leaching of the organic groups that contain the sulfonic groups. The studied flow process that combines a heterogenous catalyst and acetone/water solvent is a very promising candidate to be scaled up to an industrial scale.
  • Sustainable vine shoots-to-ethanol valorisation by a sequential acid/organosolv pretreatment
    Diego Cardoza, María del Mar Contreras, Marta Lara-Serrano, Silvia Morales-delaRosa, Jose M. Campos-Martín, Inmaculada Romero, Eulogio Castro
    Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 2024
    In this study, a fractionation and valorisation scheme for vine shoots is proposed for biofuel and lignin production. This agricultural waste was fractionated by acid/organosolv sequential pretreatment. In the first step, acid pretreatment was optimised at 150ºC and 1.2% H2SO4 to release hemicellulosic sugars, of which 76% could be recovered. This sugar stream was co-fermented by E. coli with an ethanol yield higher than 98% after detoxification with resins or NH4OH. The solid obtained under optimal acid pretreatment conditions was delignified by organosolv treatment, and a delignification rate of 43% was reached at 180ºC. This substrate with 83% enzymatic digestibility was bio-converted into ethanol by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation, with a yield of 76%. Additionally, lignin was recovered from the organosolv liquor, aiming for the full valorisation of the biomass, which showed a syringyl/guaiacyl ratio of 0.92 by nuclear magnetic resonance, complying with the data provided for Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and confirming the aromaticity of this fraction for further valorisation.
  • Selective Fragmentation of Lignocellulosic Biomass with ZnCl2·4H2O Using a Dissolution/Precipitation Method
    Marta Lara-Serrano, Daniela M. Sboiu, Silvia Morales-delaRosa, Jose M. Campos-Martin
    Applied Sciences Switzerland, 2023
    Lignocellulosic biomass dissolution in an inorganic salt hydrate (ZnCl2·4H2O) and its subsequent precipitation with water for the separation of its main compounds were investigated. For this purpose, different dissolution times and temperatures were studied, where 24 h and 70 °C were found to be the optimal choice. Three solids were obtained, which were analyzed and identified by XRD, SEM, NMR, and FTIR spectroscopy. Solid I is the undissolved part of the starting material, and it consists of lignin, which does not react with the inorganic salt hydrate and the unreacted cellulose. Solid II is a cellulose-rich solid with a low portion of hemicellulose and lignin, and Solid III is mainly pure lignin as the characterization results showed. Hemicellulose is mainly dissolved and hydrolyzed in the dissolution treatment and the amount present in all solids was very small. The reactivity of Solid I and Solid II in a hydrolysis reaction was tested (0.2 M/L H2SO4, 5 h, and 140 °C), where a significant improvement in the conversion and the yield of sugars was obtained with respect to the untreated samples in both cases. Solid II yields a large amount of total reducing sugars, with a % selectivity of 78–88%, depending on the starting biomass.
  • Characterization of lignin and lignin-derivatives from biomass. Application as expander of Lead-acid battery
    Maryame Tghos Naim, Marta Lara-Serrano, Alberto F. Romero, Silvia Morales-delaRosa, Jose M. Campos-Martín, Juan Ramón Avilés Moreno, Pilar Ocón
    Arabian Journal of Chemistry, 2022
    Expanders, as lignosulfonates, are crucial for a good performance of Pb/acid batteries. In the process of discharge, the Pb and the PbO2 go to PbSO4. The formed PbSO4 is adsorbed on the surface of the Pb electrode and dramatically reduces the lifetime of the battery by the formation of big PbSO4 crystals. In order to prevent that, the addition of expanders in the negative electrode is an economic solution to prevent the formation of big crystals. In this investigation, we propose the synthesis of several lignosulfonates obtained from lignin of many biomass origins. We have derivatized nine samples of lignin via microwave-assisted sulfonation, then we have characterized how efficient is the chosen synthesis method. The lignosulfonates obtained have been characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR), two-dimensional correlated spectroscopy (COSY), and elemental analysis to acquire some relevant information about their structure in terms of functional groups. In this way, three commercial lignosulfonates, Vanisperse A, Indulin AT, and Oakwood, have been selected as references for our comparisons. Moreover, we have checked their electrochemical properties, using electrochemical techniques to compare their behavior with respect to the commercial lignosulfonates. Finally, we have selected one of them and we have tested its performance as an expander in a Pb/acid battery. That result is a very promising first approach, and we can conclude that lignosulfonates derivatives are a good and low-cost choice to improve the lifetime of Pb/acid batteries. In particular, it is shown that the incorporation of LignosB improves the cell formation as well as the first capacity (36.30% more) and the charge acceptance (63.16% more), being these relevant parameters in the performance of Pb/acid batteries.
  • One-Pot Conversion of Glucose into 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural using MOFs and Brønsted-Acid Tandem Catalysts
    Marta Lara‐Serrano, Silvia Morales‐delaRosa, Jose M. Campos‐Martin, Víctor K. Abdelkader‐Fernández, Luís Cunha‐Silva, Salete S. Balula
    Advanced Sustainable Systems, 2022
    The direct conversion reaction of glucose to 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is studied using metal organic framework (MOF) as Lewis‐acid catalysts and a polyoxometalate (POM), silicotungstic acid, as a Brønsted‐type acid with a mixture of 1% glucose solution in γ‐valerolactone (GVL)‐10% H2O at 140 °C. The study is carried out with two routes: one using MOF and POM tandem catalysts added independently and the other through the synthesis of a composite material denoted POM@MOF. The activity tests show that the profiles of the conversion and yield of HMF achieved in both routes are similar, with the reactions with MIL‐53(Al) and MIL‐101(Cr) catalysts producing the highest yield of HMF (40% after 8 h of reaction). Stability tests are performed on the POM@MOF catalysts based on MIL‐53(Al) and MIL‐101(Cr). MIL‐53(Al) and HSiW@MIL‐101(Cr) can be reused, showing a progressive loss in HMF yield due to the leaching of POM.
  • Correction: High enhancement of the hydrolysis rate of cellulose after pretreatment with inorganic salt hydrates (Green Chemistry (2020) 22 (3860-3866) DOI: 10.1039/D0GC01066A)
    Marta Lara-Serrano, Silvia Morales-delaRosa, Jose M. Campos-Martín, Jose L. G. Fierro
    Green Chemistry, 2021
    Correction for ‘High enhancement of the hydrolysis rate of cellulose after pretreatment with inorganic salt hydrates’ by Marta Lara-Serrano et al., Green Chem., 2020, 22, 3860–3866, DOI: 10.1039/D0GC01066A.
  • Isomerization of glucose to fructose catalyzed by metal-organic frameworks
    Marta Lara-Serrano, Silvia Morales-delaRosa, Jose M. Campos-Martin, Víctor K. Abdelkader-Fernández, Luís Cunha-Silva, Salete S. Balula
    Sustainable Energy and Fuels, 2021
    High catalytic activity is found to be due to the combination of a chromium catalyst with large pores (MIL-101(Cr)) with aprotic solvents (γ-valerolactone−10% H2O).
  • High enhancement of the hydrolysis rate of cellulose after pretreatment with inorganic salt hydrates
    Marta Lara-Serrano, Silvia Morales-delaRosa, Jose M. Campos-Martín, Jose L. G. Fierro
    Green Chemistry, 2020
    Cellulose treatment dissolution/precipitation in inorganic salt hydrates produces a dramatic morphology change that yields a reactivity improvement respect the untreated for transformations.
  • Fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass by selective precipitation from ionic liquid dissolution
    Marta Lara-Serrano, Silvia Morales-delaRosa, Jose M. Campos-Martín, Jose L. G. Fierro
    Applied Sciences Switzerland, 2019
    We propose the treatment of barley straw with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate [EMIMAcO] ionic liquids (ILs) and subsequent precipitation with antisolvent mixtures, thus allowing the separation of the sugar-rich fractions (cellulose and hemicellulose) from the lignin fraction. For this purpose, different concentration ranges of acetone:water antisolvent mixtures were studied. In all cases, a high recovery percentage and a high and effective separation of fractions was achieved for 1:1 acetone:water. The fractionated lignocellulosic compounds were studied by using infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance characterization techniques. This method allows the possibility of reusing IL, confirming the versatility of the established method. The fraction rich in cellulose and hemicellulose was subjected to acid hydrolysis (0.2 mol/L H2SO4) for 5 h at 140 °C, obtaining a yield of total reducing sugars of approximately 80%, much higher than those obtained in non-pretreated samples.
  • Resource recovery potential from lignocellulosic feedstock upon lysis with ionic liquids
    Beatriz Padrino, Marta Lara-Serrano, Silvia Morales-delaRosa, José M. Campos-Martín, José Luis García Fierro, Fernando Martínez, Juan Antonio Melero, Daniel Puyol
    Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2018
  • Second-Generation Bioethanol Production Combining Simultaneous Fermentation and Saccharification of IL-Pretreated Barley Straw
    Marta Lara-Serrano, Felicia Sáez Angulo, María José Negro, Silvia Morales-delaRosa, Jose M. Campos-Martin, Jose L. G. Fierro
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 2018

Industry, Institute, or Organisation Collaboration

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
CIEMAT
Universidad de Oporto