Hydrothermal pentose to furfural conversion and simultaneous extraction with SC-CO2--kinetics and application to biomass hydrolysates

Model-Assisted Optimization of Xylose, Arabinose, Glucose, Mannose, Galactose and Real Hemicellulose Streams Dehydration To (Hydroxymethyl)Furfural and Levulinic Acid

Conversion of hemicellulose streams and the constituent monosaccharides, xylose, arabinose, glucose, mannose, and galactose, was conducted to produce value-added chemicals, including furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), levulinic acid and anhydrosugars. The study aimed at developing a kinetic model relevant for direct post-Organosolv hemicellulose conversion. Monosaccharides served as a tool to in detail describe the kinetic behavior and segregate contribution of hydrothermal decomposition and acid catalyzed dehydration at the temperature range of 120-190 °C. Catalyst free aqueous media demonstrated enhanced formation of furanics, while elevated temperatures led to significant saccharide isomerization. The introduction of sulfuric and formic acids maximized furfural yield and significantly reduced HMF concentration by facilitating its rehydration into levulinic acid (46 mol%). Formic acid additionally substantially enhanced formation of anhydrosaccharides. An excellent correlation between modeled and experimental data enabled process optimization to maximize furanic yield in two distinct hemicellulose streams. Sulfuric acid-containing hemicellulose stream achieved the highest furfural yield after 30 minutes at 238 °C, primarily due to the high Ea for pentose dehydration (150-160 kJ mol-1). Contrarily, formic acid-containing hemicellulose stream enabled maximal furfural yield at more moderate temperature and extended reaction time due to its lower Ea for the same reaction step (115-125 kJ mol-1).

Towards efficient and greener processes for furfural production from biomass: A review of the recent trends

As mentioned in several recent reviews, biomass-based furfural is attracting increasing interest as a feasible alternative for the synthesis of a wide range of non-petroleum-derived compounds. However, the lack of environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and sustainable industrial procedures is still evident. This review describes the chemical and biological routes for furfural production. The mechanisms proposed for the chemical transformation of xylose to furfural are detailed, as are the current advances in the manufacture of furfural from biomass. The main goal is to overview the different ways of improving the furfural synthesis process. A pretreatment process, particularly chemical and physico-chemical, enhances the digestibility of biomass, leading to the production of >70 % of available sugars for the production of valuable products. The combination of heterogeneous (zeolite and polymeric solid) catalyst and biphasic solvent system (water/GVL and water/CPME) is regarded as an attractive approach, affording >75 % furfural yield for over 80 % of selectivity with the possibility of catalyst reuse. Microwave heating as an activation technique reduces reaction time at least tenfold, making the process more sustainable. The state of the art in industrial processes is also discussed. It shows that, when sulfuric acid is used, the furfural yields do not exceed 55 % for temperatures close to 180 °C. However, the MTC process recently achieved an 83 % yield by continuously removing furfural from the liquid phase. Finally, the CIMV process, using a formic acid/acetic acid mixture, has been developed. The economic aspects of furfural production are then addressed. Future research will be needed to investigate scaling-up and biological techniques that produce acceptable yields and productivities to become commercially viable and competitive in furfural production from biomass.

Counter-Current Suspension Extraction Process of Lignocellulose in Biorefineries to Reach Low Water Consumption, High Extraction Yields, and Extract Concentrations

The processing of large quantities of water in biorefining processes can lead to immense costs for heating, evaporation, and wastewater disposal. These costs may prohibit the exploitation of alternative products, e.g., xylooligosaccharides from straw, which are regarded as too costly. A new counter-current extractions method is proposed that aims at low solvent (water) consumption, as well as high yields and extract concentrations. This process was evaluated with suspension extraction experiments with steam pretreated wheat straw and the process window analysis based on a mass balance for a washing and a leaching scenario. The latter was conducted with two other suspension extraction processes as a comparison. The equilibration time was found to be well below 10 min. While the suspension extraction with and without recycling need to be designed to achieve a high yield or a high concentration and low solvent consumption, the proposed extraction method can reach all three simultaneously. Thus, this new process is evaluated as a potential method to spare water and downstream costs and allow new processing pathways in second-generation biorefineries.

Enhanced Conversion of Xylan into Furfural using Acidic Deep Eutectic Solvents with Dual Solvent and Catalyst Behavior

An efficient process for the production of furfural from xylan by using acidic deep eutectic solvents (DESs), which act both as solvents and catalysts, is developed. DESs composed of cholinium chloride ([Ch]Cl) and malic acid or glycolic acid at different molar ratios, and the effects of water and γ-valerolactone (GVL) contents, solid/liquid (S/L) ratio, and microwave heating are investigated. The best furfural yields are obtained with the DES [Ch]Cl:malic acid (1:3 molar ratio)+5 wt % water, under microwave heating for 2.5 min at 150 °C, a S/L ratio of 0.050, and GVL at a weight ratio of 2:1. Under these conditions, a remarkable furfural yield (75 %) is obtained. Direct distillation of furfural from the DES/GVL solvent and distillation from 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF) after a back-extraction step enable 89 % furfural recovery from 2-MeTHF. This strategy allows recycling of the DES/GVL for at least three times with only small losses in furfural yield (>69 %). This is the fastest and highest-yielding process reported for furfural production using bio-based DESs as solvents and catalysts, paving the way for scale-up of the process.

Hydrolysis of Hemicellulose and Derivatives-A Review of Recent Advances in the Production of Furfural

Biobased production of furfural has been known for decades. Nevertheless, bioeconomy and circular economy concepts is much more recent and has motivated a regain of interest of dedicated research to improve production modes and expand potential uses. Accordingly, this review paper aims essentially at outlining recent breakthroughs obtained in the field of furfural production from sugars and polysaccharides feedstocks. The review discusses advances obtained in major production pathways recently explored splitting in the following categories: (i) non-catalytic routes like use of critical solvents or hot water pretreatment, (ii) use of various homogeneous catalysts like mineral or organic acids, metal salts or ionic liquids, (iii) feedstock dehydration making use of various solid acid catalysts; (iv) feedstock dehydration making use of supported catalysts, (v) other heterogeneous catalytic routes. The paper also briefly overviews current understanding of furfural chemical synthesis and its underpinning mechanism as well as safety issues pertaining to the substance. Eventually, some remaining research topics are put in perspective for further optimization of biobased furfural production.

Biorefinery cascade processing for creating added value on tomato industrial by-products from Tunisia

BACKGROUND

In today's consumer perception of industrial processes and food production, aspects like food quality, human health, environmental safety, and energy security have become the keywords. Therefore, much effort has been extended toward adding value to biowastes of agri-food industries through biorefinery processing approaches. This study focused, for the first time, on the valorization of tomato by-products of a Tunisian industry for the recovery of value-added compounds using biorefinery cascade processing.

RESULTS

The process integrated supercritical CO₂ extraction of carotenoids within the oil fractions from tomato seeds (TS) and tomato peels (TP), followed by a batch isolation of protein from the residues. The remaining lignocellulosic matter from both fractions was then submitted to a liquid hot water (LHW) hydrolysis. Supercritical CO₂ experiments extracted 5.79% oleoresin, 410.53 mg lycopene/kg, and 31.38 mg β-carotene/kg from TP and 26.29% oil, 27.84 mg lycopene/kg, and 5.25 mg β-carotene/kg from TS, on dry weights. Protein extraction yields, nearing 30% of the initial protein contents equal to 13.28% in TP and 39.26% in TS, revealed that TP and TS are a rich source of essential amino acids. LHW treatment run at 120-200 °C, 50 bar for 30 min showed that a temperature of 160 °C was the most convenient for cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysis from TP and TS, while keeping the degradation products low.

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicated that tomato by-products are not only a green source of lycopene-rich oleoresin and tomato seed oil (TSO) and of protein with good nutritional quality but also a source of lignocellulosic matter with potential for bioethanol production. This study would provide an important reference for the concept and the feasibility of the cascade fractionation of valuable compounds from tomato industrial by-products.Graphical abstractSchema of biorefinery cascade processing of tomato industrial by-products toward isolation of valuable fractions.

Furfural Production from d-Xylose and Xylan by Using Stable Nafion NR50 and NaCl in a Microwave-Assisted Biphasic Reaction

Pentose dehydration and direct transformation of xylan into furfural were performed in a water-cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME) biphasic system under microwave irradiation. Heated up between 170 and 190 °C in the presence of Nafion NR50 and NaCl, d-xylose, l-arabinose and xylan gave furfural with maximum yields of 80%, 42% and 55%, respectively. The influence of temperature and reaction time on the reaction kinetics was discussed. This study was also completed by the survey of different reactant ratios, such as organic layer-water or catalyst-inorganic salt ratios. The exchange between proton and cation induced by an excess of NaCl was monitored, and a synergetic effect between the remaining protons and the released HCl was also discovered.

Conversion of hemicellulose sugars catalyzed by formic acid: kinetics of the dehydration of D-xylose, L-arabinose, and D-glucose

The pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass produces a liquid stream of hemicellulose-based sugars, which can be further converted to high-value chemicals. Formosolv pulping and the Milox process use formic acid as the fractionating agent, which can be used as the catalyst for the valorisation of hemicellulose sugars to platform chemicals. The objective of this study was to investigate the reaction kinetics of major components in the hemicelluloses fraction of biomass, that is, D-xylose, L-arabinose and D-glucose. The kinetics experiments for each sugar were performed at temperatures between 130 and 170 °C in various formic acid concentrations (10-64 wt %). The implications of these kinetic models on the selectivity of each sugar to the desired products are discussed. The models were used to predict the reaction kinetics of solutions that resemble the liquid stream obtained from the fractionation process of biomass using formic acid.

Selective hydrolysis of wheat straw hemicellulose using high-pressure CO2 as catalyst

The use of high-pressure CO₂–H₂O as selective acid-catalysed hydrolysis of wheat straw enhances xylo-oligosaccharides yield compared to water-only reaction.

The role of xylulose as an intermediate in xylose conversion to furfural: insights via experiments and kinetic modelling

An experimental work has been performed to study the relevance of xylulose as an intermediate during non-catalyzed and acid-catalyzed xylose conversions to furfural in aqueous solution at the temperature range from 180 to 220 °C.

Biohydrogen, biomethane and bioelectricity as crucial components of biorefinery of organic wastes: a review

Biohydrogen is a sustainable form of energy as it can be produced from organic waste through fermentation processes involving dark fermentation and photofermentation. Very often biohydrogen is included as a part of biorefinery approaches, which reclaim organic wastes that are abundant sources of renewable and low cost substrate that can be efficiently fermented by microorganisms. The aim of this work was to critically assess selected bioenergy alternatives from organic solid waste, such as biohydrogen and bioelectricity, to evaluate their relative advantages and disadvantages in the context of biorefineries, and finally to indicate the trends for future research and development. Biorefining is the sustainable processing of biomass into a spectrum of marketable products, which means: energy, materials, chemicals, food and feed. Dark fermentation of organic wastes could be the beach-head of complete biorefineries that generate biohydrogen as a first step and could significantly influence the future of solid waste management. Series systems show a better efficiency than one-stage process regarding substrate conversion to hydrogen and bioenergy. The dark fermentation also produces fermented by-products (fatty acids and solvents), so there is an opportunity for further combining with other processes that yield more bioenergy. Photoheterotrophic fermentation is one of them: photosynthetic heterotrophs, such as non-sulfur purple bacteria, can thrive on the simple organic substances produced in dark fermentation and light, to give more H2. Effluents from photoheterotrophic fermentation and digestates can be processed in microbial fuel cells for bioelectricity production and methanogenic digestion for methane generation, thus integrating a diverse block of bioenergies. Several digestates from bioenergies could be used for bioproducts generation, such as cellulolytic enzymes and saccharification processes, leading to ethanol fermentation (another bioenergy), thus completing the inverse cascade. Finally, biohydrogen, biomethane and bioelectricity could contribute to significant improvements for solid organic waste management in agricultural regions, as well as in urban areas.