Abstract
Furfural (FUR) was produced from xylose using a biphasic batch reaction system. Water-immiscible organic solvents such as isophorone, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF) and cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME) were used to promptly extract FUR from the aqueous phase in order to avoid the degradation to humins as largely as possible. The effect of time, temperature, organic solvent and organic-to-aqueous ratio on xylose conversion and FUR yield were investigated in auto-catalyzed conditions. Experiments at three temperatures (170, 190 and 210 °C) were carried out in a stirred microwave-assisted batch reactor, which established the optimal conditions for achieving the highest FUR yield. The maximum FUR yields from xylose were 78 mol% when using CPME, 48 mol% using isophorone and 71 mol% in the case of 2-MTHF at an aqueous to organic phase ratio of 1:1 (v/v). Birch hydrolysate was also used to show the high furfural yield that can be obtained in the biphasic system under optimized conditions. The present study suggests that CPME can be used as a green and efficient extraction solvent for the conversion of xylose into furfural without salt addition.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 354-363 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry |
Volume | 72 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 25 Apr 2019 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
This research has been done in collaboration with Stora Enso and funded through Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctoral Programme SELECT+, the support of which is gratefully acknowledged. G.G.M. was supported also by CONACyT-SENER (the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology - Secretariat of Energy). The authors are also grateful for the support of the staff at the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems at Aalto University especially to Heidi Meriö-Talvio and Mika Sipponen. JL is a Serra Húnter Fellow and is grateful to ICREA Academia program.
Keywords
- 2-MTHF
- CPME
- Furfural
- Isophorone
- Prehydrolysate liquor
- Xylose