Acidic cesium salts of 12-tungstophosphoric acid as catalysts for the dehydration of xylose into furfural

Synthesis of niobium oxide nanowires by polyethylenimine as template at varying pH values

Nb₂O₅ nanowires were synthesized by a hydrothermal method using polyethylenimine as a soft template. The results indicated that the pH value greatly affected the Nb₂O₅ nanowires.

Solid acids as catalysts for the conversion of D-xylose, xylan and lignocellulosics into furfural in ionic liquid

With the aim to develop an ecologically viable catalytic pathway for furfural production without the use of inorganic acids, H3PW12O40, Amberlyst-5 and NKC-9 (macroporous styrene-based sulfonic acid resin) were used as catalysts for producing furfural from xylose, xylan and lignocellulosic biomass in [BMIM]Cl under microwave irradiation at atmospheric pressure. A surprisingly high furfural yield of 93.7% from xylan was obtained by H3PW12O40 at 160 °C in 10 min. The degradation of furfural affected by single addition of [BMIM]Cl and solid acids was also investigated. The IL could be easily recycled and reused with stable solvent capacity for multiple runs (5×) after the product furfural was extracted with ethyl acetate.

Dehydration of xylose to furfural over MCM-41-supported niobium-oxide catalysts

A series of silica-based MCM-41-supported niobium-oxide catalysts are prepared, characterized by using XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and pyridine adsorption coupled to FTIR spectroscopy, and tested for the dehydration of D-xylose to furfural. Under the operating conditions used all materials are active in the dehydration of xylose to furfural (excluding the MCM-41 silica support). The xylose conversion increases with increasing Nb2 O5 content. At a loading of 16 wt % Nb2 O5 , 74.5 % conversion and a furfural yield of 36.5 % is achieved at 170 °C, after 180 min reaction time. Moreover, xylose conversion and furfural yield increase with the reaction time and temperature, attaining 82.8 and 46.2 %, respectively, at 190 °C and after 100 min reaction time. Notably, the presence of NaCl in the reaction medium further increases the furfural yield (59.9 % at 170 °C after 180 min reaction time). Moreover, catalyst reutilization is demonstrated by performing at least three runs with no loss of catalytic activity and without the requirement for an intermediate regeneration step. No significant niobium leaching is observed, and a relationship between the structure of the catalyst and the activity is proposed.

Conversion of xylan, d-xylose and lignocellulosic biomass into furfural using AlCl3 as catalyst in ionic liquid

In order to define a new green catalytic pathway for the production of furfural, the catalyzed conversion of xylan into furfural in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride was studied by using mineral acids and metal chlorides as catalysts under microwave irradiation. Amongst these catalysts, AlCl(3) resulted in the highest furfural yield of 84.8% at 170°C for 10s. The effect of AlCl(3) on the conversion efficiency of d-xylose and untreated lignocellulosic biomass was also investigated, the yields of furfural from corncob, grass and pine wood catalyzed by AlCl(3) in [BMIM]Cl were in the range of 16-33%. [BMIM]Cl and AlCl(3) could be recycled for four runs with stable catalytic activity. AlCl(3) is less corrosive than mineral acids, and the use of ionic liquid as reaction medium will no longer generate toxic wastewater, thus this reaction system is more ecologically viable.

Quantification of glucose, xylose, arabinose, furfural, and HMF in corncob hydrolysate by HPLC-PDA-ELSD

Lignocellulose and other carbohydrates are being studied extensively as potential renewable carbon sources for liquid biofuels and other valuable chemicals. In the present study, a simple, sensitive, selective, and reliable HPLC method using a photodiode array (PDA) detector and an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) was developed for the simultaneous determination of important sugars (D(+)-cellobiose, glucose, xylose, and arabinose), furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in lignocellulose hydrolysate. The analysis was carried out on an Aminex HPX-87H column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm particle size). Ultra-pure water with 0.00035 M H(2)SO(4) was used as the mobile phase with a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. The temperature of the ELSD drift tube was kept at 50 °C, the carrier gas pressure was 350 kPa, and the gain was set at 7. Furfural and 5-HMF were quantified on a PDA detector at 275 nm and 284 nm, respectively. The sugar concentrations were determined by ELSD. This method was validated for accuracy and precision. The regression equation revealed a good linear relationship (r(2) = 0.9986 ± 0.0012) within the test ranges. The method showed good reproducibility for the quantification of six analytes in corncob hydrolysate, with intra- and inter-day variations less than 1.12%. This method is also convenient because it allows the rapid analysis of the primary products of biomass hydrolysis and carbohydrate degradation.

Production of furfural from xylose at atmospheric pressure by dilute sulfuric acid and inorganic salts

In this paper, the dehydration of xylose to furfural was carried out under atmospheric pressure and at the boiling temperature of a biphasic mixture of toluene and an aqueous solution of xylose, with sulfuric acid as catalyst plus an inorganic salt (NaCl or FeCl(3)) as promoter. The best yield of furfural was 83% under the following conditions: 150 mL of toluene and 10 mL of aqueous solution of 10% xylose (w/w), 10% H(2)SO(4) (w/w), 2.4g NaCl , and heating for 5h. FeCl(3) as promoter was found to be more efficient than NaCl. The addition of DMSO to the aqueous phase in the absence of an inorganic salt was shown to improve the yield of furfural.

Biorefining: heterogeneously catalyzed reactions of carbohydrates for the production of furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural

Furfurals are important intermediates in the chemical industry. They are typically produced by homogeneous catalysis in aqueous solutions. However, heterogeneously catalyzed processes would be beneficial in view of the principles of green chemistry: the elimination of homogeneous mineral acids makes the reaction mixtures less corrosive, produces less waste, and facilitates easy separation and recovery of the catalyst. Finding an active and stable water-tolerant solid acid catalyst still poses a challenge for the production of furfural (furan-2-carbaldehyde) and 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde (HMF). Furfural is produced in the dehydration of xylose, and HMF is formed from glucose and fructose in the presence of an acidic catalyst. Bases are not active in dehydration reaction but do catalyze the isomerization of monosaccharides, which is favorable when using glucose as a raw material. In addition to the desired dehydration of monosaccharides, many undesired side reactions take place, reducing the selectivity and deactivating the catalyst. In addition, the catalyst properties play an important role in the selectivity. In this Review, catalytic conversion approaches are summarized, focusing on the heterogeneously catalyzed formation of furfural. The attractiveness of catalytic concepts is evaluated, keeping in mind productivity, sustainability, and environmental footprint.

Optimization of furfural production from hemicellulose extracted from delignified palm pressed fiber using a two-stage process

This study aims to optimize the conditions for furfural production from hemicellulose extracted from delignified palm pressed fiber (dPPF) via two-stage process: acid hydrolysis followed by dehydration, using response surface methodology (RSM). The extracted hemicellulose contained 80.8% xylose. In order to convert hemicellulose to xylose in the acid hydrolysis step, there were four important parameters consisting of reaction temperature (100-150°C), sulfuric acid concentration (1-10% v/v), ratio of sulfuric acid to hemicellulose (L/S ratio) (10, 9, and 8 v/w), and reaction time (30-120min). The maximum xylose production (12.58g/L) was achieved at 125°C, 5.5% sulfuric acid, L/S ratio of 9mL/g for 30min with the determination coefficient (R(2)) value of 0.90. For the dehydration process, two parameters; reaction temperature (120-160°C) and reaction time (30-150min), were optimized. The maximum furfural production (8.67g/L) was achieved at a reaction temperature of 140°C for 90min with the determination coefficient (R(2)) value of 0.93.