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The pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass produces a liquid stream of hemicellulose-based sugars, which can be further converted to high-value chemicals. Formosolv pulping and the Milox process use formic acid as the fractionating agent, which can be used as the catalyst for the valorisation of hemicellulose sugars to platform chemicals. The objective of this study was to investigate the reaction kinetics of major components in the hemicelluloses fraction of biomass, that is, D-xylose, L-arabinose and D-glucose. The kinetics experiments for each sugar were performed at temperatures between 130 and 170 °C in various formic acid concentrations (10-64 wt %). The implications of these kinetic models on the selectivity of each sugar to the desired products are discussed. The models were used to predict the reaction kinetics of solutions that resemble the liquid stream obtained from the fractionation process of biomass using formic acid.

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10Furfural is a potential platform chemical derived from biomass, which has gained increased 11 attention as a potential substitute for the displacement of petrochemicals and the production 12 of biofuels. The catalytic effect of different metal tri-chlorides (FeCl3, AlCl3 and CrCl3) 13 with formic acid (FA) was investigated for the selective conversion of D-xylose to furfural 14 in aqueous solutions. Reactions were carried out at various temperatures (100-170 o C), FA 15 concentrations (0-65 wt.%), and metal chloride concentrations (0.2-0.8 M). Lyxose was 16 identified as primary intermediate of the conversion of xylose at low temperatures and FA 17 concentrations. A mixture containing 0.4 M AlCl3 and 55 wt.% FA was the most selective 18 and active system for the production of furfural at low temperatures (130 o C, selectivity 19 ≈70-90%). A simplified kinetic model was developed to describe the overall xylose 20 * Corresponding author: Tel.: +353 85 129 68 49. Email address: karla.dussan@nuigalway.ie (K. Dussan) 2 conversion and furfural formation under the selected conditions, offering a valuable tool for 1 process optimisation and design. 2

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