Mini-Review on the Synthesis of Furfural and Levulinic Acid from Lignocellulosic Biomass

Abstract

Efficient conversion of renewable biomass into value-added chemicals and biofuels is regarded as an alternative route to reduce our high dependence on fossil resources and the associated environmental issues. In this context, biomass-based furfural and levulinic acid (LA) platform chemicals are frequently utilized to synthesize various valuable chemicals and biofuels. In this review, the reaction mechanism and catalytic system developed for the generation of furfural and levulinic acid are summarized and compared. Special efforts are focused on the different catalytic systems for the synthesis of furfural and levulinic acid. The corresponding challenges and outlooks are also observed.

Catalytic Production of Levulinic and Formic Acids from Fructose over Superacid ZrO2–SiO2–SnO2 Catalyst

“…(1) formation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) by acid catalyzed dehydration of fructose via cyclic [21][22][23] or acyclic intermediates [23][24][25] as the first step, in which three water molecules are consecutively removed from the fructose molecule; and (2) the 5-HMF is then rehydrated to FA and LA, also requiring two moles of water according to the mechanism described by Horvat el al. [26].…”

“…The acid ZrO2-SiO2 and superacid ZrO2-SiO2-SnO2 mixed oxides were tested as catalysts for the conversion of 20 wt.% fructose in an aqueous medium to yield levulinic (LA) and formic (FA) acids. Based on experimental data, the most widely described route for the formation of levulinic and formic acids from fructose is as follows (Scheme 1): (1) formation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) by acid catalyzed dehydration of fructose via cyclic [21][22][23] or acyclic intermediates [23][24][25] as the first step, in which three water molecules are consecutively removed from the fructose molecule; and (2) the 5-HMF is then rehydrated to FA and LA, also requiring two moles of water according to the mechanism described by Horvat el al. [26].…”

Trends in renewable energy: an overview

“…Finally, glucose can be produced from cellulose and from there formic acid, ethanol, acetic acid, lactic acid, glyceraldehyde, hydroxyacetone, maleic acid, erythrose, levulinic acid, sorbitol, fructose, mannitol, furfural etc. These can be further used for the production of a variety of important chemicals on an industrial scale [187,188].The future demands will determine the percentage of residual biomass will be used for chemical or sustainable aircrafts fuels.…”

From biomass-derived furans to aromatic compounds: design of Al–Nb-SBA-15 mesoporous structures and study of their acid properties on catalytic performance

“…1,2 Among these, furan compounds emerge as intermediate substances from lignocellulosic sources that can be used as platform molecules to obtain more valuable products. 3,4 Examples of these furanic type compounds are: furfural or FAL (obtained via selective dehydration of C5 sugars), 5 5-hydroxymethyl furfural or 5-HMF (synthesized via selective dehydration of fructose), 6 furfuryl alcohol or FOL (attained via selective hydrogenation of FAL), 7 furan and 2-methylfuran or 2-MF (produced by selective hydrogenation of furfural), 3 2,5-dimethylfuran or 2,5-DMF (produced by selective reduction of 5-HMF), 8 among others. These furanic compounds could be used as starting reactants to get a wide range of valuable compounds for chemical industry, by covering substances as furfuryl-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) used as monomer for polymers synthesis, 9 tetrahydrofuran (THF) and derivatives commonly used as solvents and additives for polymers, 3 tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFOL) and their derived alkyl-ethers useful as components and additives for renewable fuels, 10 and even aromatic (BTXs) compounds commonly used in petrochemical industry.…”