The Production of Furfural from Xylose Solutions by Means of Hydrochloric Acid–Sodium Chloride Systems

Abstract

One of the outstanding achievements in the utilization of agricultural wastes in the manufacture of industrial chemicals is the development of the furfural industry. The furfural is produced by heating oat hulls at about 60 pounds pressure with about 5 per cent sulfuric acid for five or more hours (14, 16, 5). The yield is about 50 to 60 per cent of the theoretical. The studies reported in the present communication have to do with the production of furfural from strong xylose solutions by various combinations of hydrochloric acid and sodium chloride, in order to establish general principles of procedure which could be applied directly to the agricultural material or to the xylose-containing hydrolysates made therefrom. The presence of the salt decreases the solubility of the furfural, ensuring its more rapid and complete removal by the solvent. The salt likewise increases the activity of the acid. This latter phenomenon has been studied with reference to various hydrolytic actions (2,

Sulfonated Sporopollenin as an Efficient and Recyclable Heterogeneous Catalyst for Dehydration of d-Xylose and Xylan into Furfural

“…The reaction is usually carried out at temperatures that can range from 170 to 185 °C under conventional heating. These processes require strong aqueous mineral acids such as HCl, , H 2 SO 4 , or H 3 PO 4 , which are also the main cause of corrosion, safety, and handling problems. Recovery of furfural involves high-energy processes of distillation and additional treatments, such as neutralization, which generate large waste streams.…”

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

“…The reaction is usually carried out in a range of temperatures found between 170 and 185 °C under a conventional heating. Performed in water, these processes require strong mineral acids, such as HCl [3,4], H 2 SO 4 [5] or H 3 PO 4 [6], causing corrosion, safety and handling problems. Recovery of furfural requires distillation of the solvent and other treatments, such as neutralization, which lead to large waste streams and high-energy consumption.…”

Iron‐Catalyzed Furfural Production in Biobased Biphasic Systems: From Pure Sugars to Direct Use of Crude Xylose Effluents as Feedstock

“…[1][2][3] Furfural can be derived from the C 5 -sugar xylose, which is the most abundant sugar of the hemicellulose fraction in lignocellulose. [4][5][6][7] Chemical approaches for xylose dehydration usually involve acidic conditions, using either mineral acids [4,5,8] or acidic heterogeneous catalysts such as zeolites, [9] MCM-41 materials, [10] and heteropolyacids. [11] To overcome humin formation in furfural dehydration, [12,13] the application of aqueous biphasic systems (using organic solvents such as methyl isobutyl ketone or toluene) for the in situ extraction of furfural has recently been proposed.…”