Application of Sulfonated Carbon-Based Catalyst for Solvothermal Conversion of Cassava Waste to Hydroxymethylfurfural and Furfural

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the production of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural from cassava waste using a sulfonated carbon-based catalyst and to determine the suitable conditions for the reaction. With the use of the catalyst, the appropriate reaction medium for the production of HMF and furfural was a mixture of acetone/DMSO (70/30% w/w) and water at a ratio of 10/90% w/w. The reaction temperature and time were 250◦C and 1 min, respectively, and the corresponding weight ratio of the catalyst to cassava waste was 0.05:1. Furthermore, the carbon-based catalyst was found to be highly stable and thus can potentially replace the conventional homogeneous acid catalysts such as sulfuric acid for biomass conversion to liquid alkane. Particularly, the catalyst plays an important role in enhancing hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicelluloses and promoting the dehydration of xylose and glucose to form HMF and furfural.

Comparison of Solid Acid-Catalyzed and Autocatalyzed C5 and C6 Sugar Dehydration Reactions with Water as a Solvent

“…These organic acids act as homogeneous catalysts during the dehydration reaction, and because of the high catalytic activity of organic acids, reactions without a heterogeneous catalyst can also lead to relatively high yields of furfural, although the use of carbon catalyst was observed to guide the reaction more towards the desired dehydration products. Daenspraset et al [10] studied a sulfonated carbon catalyst during a dehydration reaction and compared the results to thermal reactions under the same reaction conditions. They found that when comparing furfural selectivity with and without a catalyst, the catalyzed reactions gave higher conversions and yields to furfural with xylose and fructose than the thermal reactions.…”

“…In some studies non-aqueous solvents give a higher selectivity to furfurals than water. This can be explained by the fact that water acts as a reagent in the consecutive reactions of furfurals [9,10]. Water cannot be totally eliminated from the reaction mixture unless it is continuously removed as it forms during the dehydration reaction.…”

“…Carbon catalysts in solvents other than water, or solvent mixtures containing water, have been more widely studied. Qi et al [24] studied the effects of fructose dehydration on the carbon catalyst in an ionic liquid ([BMIM][Cl]), whereas Wang et al [21] studied the effects of fructose dehydration on carbon-based catalysts in DMSO and Daenspraset et al [10] studied the effects of xylose, glucose, and fructose dehydration on a sulfonated carbon-based catalyst in a solvent mixture containing acetone, DMSO, and water.…”

“…Only a few studies [10] have reported the dehydration activity of a carbon catalyst in a water solvent and compared it to the activity of autocatalytical reactions under the same reaction conditions. The aim of this work was to study the difference between heterogeneously catalyzed and autocatalytic dehydration reactions of xylose, glucose and fructose.…”

Sulfonated carbon catalyzed oxidation of aldehydes to carboxylic acids by hydrogen peroxide

“…As acid catalysts, sulfonated carbon materials exhibited excellent catalytic performance in various acid-catalyzed reactions, including etherification of alkene with alcohol [21], esterification reaction [22−24], hydrolysis reaction [25], Aldol condensation [26], dehydration [27], silylation of alcohols and phenols [28], Friedel-Crafts reaction [29,30] and Biginelli reaction [31]. As it is known, peroxysulfuric acid is a strong oxidant which can be formed through the reaction of sulfuric acid with hydrogen peroxide [32].…”