Experimental studies of furfural production from water hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes)

Abstract

Furfural is a very promising product of lignocellulosic biomass‐based biorefineries and has the potential to become a useful resource for further conversion and utilization. Aquatic plants show an enormous potential as feedstock since they do not compete for land use, and they require minimal water consumption in a biorefinery concept due to their very high water content. This work is focused on experimental studies of furfural production from water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) by means of aqueous, acid‐catalyzed dehydration. The temperature range of the process, and the acid and seawater presence were chosen based on the previous relevant studies. The aim of the study was to determine whether water hyacinth is suitable for furfural production. The experiments were performed between 160°C and 200°C with a water hyacinth concentration of 2 wt%. The results suggest that the effects of acid catalyst presence on biomass dehydration are similar to the case of pure pentose dehydration. Furthermore, the addition of seawater did not have a positive catalytic effect in terms of the furfural yield. The maximum yield was 53.2 mol% based on the C5 sugar content in the original biomass. The furfural yield of 7.9 wt% of water hyacinth input was comparable to the yield of feedstocks such as corn cob, bagasse, and oat's residue and higher than the cases of rice straw or hulls. Thanks to the comparatively high pentose potential, water hyacinth shows promising results as a candidate feedstock for furfural production. A certain variability of pentosan should be taken into account, as the chemical composition of the plant depends on the source and harvesting seasons.

Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms: A Comprehensive Review of Its Chemical Composition, Traditional Use, and Value-Added Products

“…The biorefinery of E. crassipes biomass revealed several enzymes and valuable products. Furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural, for instance, were produced using the nonhazardous oxidant (FeCl 3 ) method with the highest yield of 7.9 wt% of the dry mass of the plant (Liu et al, 2018;Poomsawat et al, 2019). Moreover, due to E. crassipes availability, low price, and its high percentage of cellulose, the plant is considered a favorable source to produce fibers, superconductors, and supercapacitors (Sundari and Ramesh, 2012;Asrofi et al, 2017;Sindhu et al, 2017).…”

Application of Water Hyacinth Biomass (Eichhornia crassipes) as an Adsorbent for Methylene Blue Dye from Aqueous Medium: Kinetic and Isothermal Study

“…The composition of water hyacinth appropriately corresponds to the standard composition of wet aquatic biomass. According to the literature, it consists mainly of cellulose and hemicellulose and generally has a low lignin content [55], constituting lignocellulose which is hygroscopic and has an affinity for water, being able to permeate the noncrystalline portion of water [56].…”

The Multifaceted Function of Water Hyacinth in Maintaining Environmental Sustainability and the Underlying Mechanisms: A Mini Review

“…Composting with other materials, such as food residues, livestock manure and wood chips, is another common application of WH as a result of its rich cellulose [ 21 ]. Richness in cellulose also enables WH to be a decent raw material in producing some other value-added products, such as handicrafts, paper, filter membranes, furfural, fibers and so on [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Interestingly, WH can be used in the construction industry.…”