Furfural Synthesis from Mikania micrantha using Tamarind Extract as Catalyst

Abstract

The use of inorganic acid catalyst in furfural synthesis from biomass cause equipment corrosion and waste disposal since waste of the inorganic acid catalyst can damage environment. To overcome these issues, organic acid catalyst could be considered as an alternative. The purpose of this work was to examine the utilization of organic acid derived from tamarind as catalyst and compare it with sulfuric acid catalyst. Mikania micrantha (MC) was used as a feedstock. As much as 50 g dry MC was pulverized to 70 mesh and mixed with 50 g sodium chloride. This mixture was added into tamarind extract at ratio of 1:6 (w/v) in a three neck round bottom flask equipped with condenser, stirrer, and thermometer. The reaction was performed at 100-120 o C and for 0-330 min. Crude furfural was extracted by adding 50 ml chloroform. After extraction two layer were occurred, the bottom layer was furfural and chloroform, and the top layer was rich in water. Furfural and chloroform was separated by distillation process at 60-70C. The furfural obtained was characterized by aniline acetate reagent, density test, infrared spectrophotometer, and GC-MS. The results confirmed that organic acids from tamarind extraction can be used as a catalyst in furfural formation.