High production of furfural by flash pyrolysis of C6 sugars and lignocellulose by Pd-PdO/ZnSO4 catalyst

Abstract

Furfural (C5H4O2) is an important platform chemical for the synthesis of next-generation bio-fuels. Herein, we report a novel and reusable heterogeneous catalyst, Pd-PdO/ZnSO4 with 1.1 mol% palladium (Pd), for the production of furfural by flash pyrolysis of lignocelluloses at 400 °C. For both dry and wet C6 cellulose and its monomers, the furfural yields reach 74–82 mol%, relative to 96 mol% from C5 xylan and 23–33 wt% from sugarcane bagasse and corncob. The catalyst has a well-defined structure and bifunctional property, comprising a ZnSO4 support for the dehydration and isomerization of glucose, and a local core-shell configuration for metallic Pd0 encapsulated by an oxide (PdO) layer. The PdO layer is active for the Grob fragmentation of formaldehyde (HCHO) from glucose, which is subsequently in-situ steam reformed into syn-gas (i.e. H2 and CO), whereas the Pd0 core is active in promoting the last dehydration step for the formation of furfural.

Exploring the Potential of Copper Palladium Nanocube Electrocatalysts for Enhancing the Overall Water Splitting Performance

“…35−38 The core level Cu 2p spectra (Figure 3c), the binding energy at 934. 16 We have also studied the XPS analysis for Cu 2 O 39,40 and PdO 41,42 , as seen in Figures S4 and S5.…”

“…The deconvoluted O 1s spectra (Figure d) at binding energies of 529, 530, and 531 eV correspond to M–O, M–O–M, and M–OH, clearly confirms the formation of CuPd catalyst. We have also studied the XPS analysis for Cu 2 O , and PdO , , as seen in Figures S4 and S5.…”

A supramolecular approach for converting renewable biomass into functional materials

“…21 Whereas, physical mixing needs high compatibility between the biomass and other synthetic components even though it is more convenient. 22,23 Because of the great importance of biomass, humans have never stopped pursuing and exploring new processing modes of biomass. 24–26…”