The production of furfural directly from hemicellulose in lignocellulosic biomass: A review

Enhanced Conversion of Xylan into Furfural using Acidic Deep Eutectic Solvents with Dual Solvent and Catalyst Behavior

“…obtained an 87.8 % yield of furfural with a GVL/H 2 O solvent system at 130 °C and Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 as catalyst . However, in both studies, long reaction times of 45 min to 1 h were required and the catalysts could be easily deactivated in aqueous solution or biphasic systems containing salts . To overcome this drawback, the scientific community has been looking for other approaches, such as the use of supercritical solvents to dehydrate hemicellulose (68 % furfural yield using xylose at 230 °C and 12 MPa), or by the use of neoteric solvents, such as ionic liquids (ILs) .…”

“…The furfural yields obtained with conventional heating are already promising compared with previous studies, in which lower yields were obtained by using higher temperatures and in presence of strong acids as catalysts . Nonetheless, the furfural yield obtained under the investigated conditions was still below 50 % and a 4 h reaction time was required.…”

“…Biphasic systems are commonly employed in continuous processes to improve furfural yields by decreasing the occurrence of secondary reactions. In these systems, furfural is produced in aqueous media and continuously extracted into the organic phase to which it has a higher affinity . Conventional solvents, such as methyl isobutyl ketone, tetrahydrofuran (THF), and cyclopentyl methyl ether have been used for this purpose.…”

“…In these systems, furfural is produced in aqueous media and continuously extracted into the organic phase to which it has a higher affinity. [14] Conventionals olvents, such as methyl isobutyl ketone, [15] tetrahydrofuran (THF), [16] andc yclopentyl methyl An efficient process for the production of furfural from xylan by using acidic deep eutectic solvents (DESs), which act both as solvents and catalysts, is developed. DESs composed of choliniumc hloride ([Ch]Cl) and malic acid or glycolic acid at differentm olar ratios, and the effects of water and g-valerolactone (GVL) contents, solid/liquid (S/L) ratio, andm icrowave heatinga re investigated.…”

Catalytic Upgrading of Biomass‐Derived Sugars with Acidic Nanoporous Materials: Structural Role in Carbon‐Chain Length Variation

“…Analogous to HMF, furfural, which contains multiple functional groups (e.g., C=O, C=C, and C−O), is an important building block for the production of valuable chemicals and biofuels . Over acidic materials, furfural is accessible from the dehydration of pentose, which is the constituent unit of hemicelluloses .…”