Common Reactions of Furfural to scalable processes of Residual Biomass

Abstract

Energy and the environment will always play key roles in society. The climate emergency cannot be ruled out to enable the transition for a clean energy future. Currently, non-renewable energy resources are declining, therefore is important to continuously explore renewable resources. Biomass is a renewable resource that can be applied to reduce climate changes and to accomplhish emission policies. Cellulose is the most abundant type of biomass worldwide, which can be transformed into biofuels and potential building block platform molecules (e.g furfural) throughout biological or chemical methods. Furfural can be synthetized from cellulose using hydrolysis and dehydration reactions. Furfural has a furan ring and carbonyl functional group which makes it an important intermediary to produce higher value-added molecules at industrial level. These molecules include gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. However, furfural can also be transformed by hydrogenation, oxidation, decarboxylation and condensation reactions. The selective hydrogenation of furfural produces furfuryl alcohol, an important industrial compound, which is widely employed in the production of resins, fibers, and is considered an essential product for pharmaceutical applications. On the other hand, the oxidation of furfural produces furoic acid which is appliedin the agrochemical industry, where it is commonly transformed to furoyl chloride which is finally used in the production of drugs and insecticides. The oxidation and reduction of furfural can carry out through heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis, and biocatalysis. Selectivity is an important issue in furfural hydrogenation and oxidation reactions since different products can be obtained by using monometallic or bimetallic catalysts and/or different catalyst supports. In biocatalysis approach, different enzymes, complete cells, tools of modern biotechnology, DNA sequencing, regulation of metabolic networks, overexpression of genes that encode enzymes of interest and optimization of the cellular properties of the microorganism are used. Herein, a review on the current status of furfuryl alcohol and furoic acid production from furfural by heterogeneous catalysis and biocatalysis has been studied. The stability, selectivity and activity of catalystsalong with the different furfural oxidation and reduction conditions have been pointed out. Additionally, the main enzymes, microorganisms and mechanism involved in the furfural degradation process have also been discussed.

Valorization of residual lignocellulosic biomass in South America: a review

“…Among the information analyzed from Colombia, a review was found describing the processes for obtaining FF from RLB and the reactions to convert it into molecules of interest. For example, hydrogenation to generate furfuryl alcohol and oxidation to obtain maleic acid, furoic acid, and methyl furoate (Rodriguez et al, 2020 ). Laverde et al ( 2019 ) reported an interesting route in which they used oil palm pulp, since it has a high content of cellulose and hemicellulose.…”

Synthesis of renewable isoindolines from bio-based furfurals

“…[22][23][24][25][26] As one of the key bio-based molecules, the global production of furfural in 2019 reached $551 million (USD) and is estimated to exceed $700 million by 2024. 27,28 With the wide accessibility and low cost ($1500 per ton) of furfural, the cascade Diels-Alder (DA) cycloaddition and aromatization of furfural derivatives has gradually become a significant pathway to synthesize renewable aromatics, particularly functionalized aromatic compounds. 19,29 Furfural is rarely used for direct DA cycloaddition because aldehyde as an electron-withdrawing group stabilizes the HOMO of the furfural molecule, leading to the increase of the HOMO-LUMO energy gap between the furfural and dienophile and thus the inhibition of cycloaddition.…”

Selective and Robust Ru Catalyst for the Aqueous Phase Aerobic Oxidation of Furfural to 2-Furoic Acid

“…Furfural is a compelling substrate among numerous platform chemicals derived from pentoses due to its established commercial production (280–400 kton/year). , The global furfural market has been expanding rapidly, with the market size growing from USD 551 million in 2019 to an estimated USD 700 million by 2024. − However, other potential derivatives such as 2-furoic acid (FURA), 2-methyl furan (2-MF), tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA), tetrahydrofuran (THF), and 2-methyl tetrahydrofuran (MTHFA) can also be produced from furfural …”