Conversion of biomass-derived monosaccharide into furfural over Cr–Mg-LDO@bagasse catalysts

Abstract

5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural, sourced from biomass-derived sugars, are promising platform molecules that can be further transformed into fuel intermediates and hydrocarbon fuels. Therefore, it is of great significance to study their catalytic preparation processes, especially the development of efficient catalysts. The degradation of biomass derived aldose (glucose and xylose) into furan compounds (HMF and furfural) involves the isomerization of aldose to ketose and then further dehydration and cyclization of ketose to produce corresponding furan compounds. Herein we reported a Cr-containing layered hydrotalcite structure composite with biochar material, which can be used for efficiently dehydration of glucose and xylose to produce HMF and furfural. The alkali metal hydroxide structure in the hydrotalcite structure provides the basic environment required for the isomerization reaction, while Cr3+ will provide the Lewis acid environment for the dehydration of ketoses. The optimum Cr3+/Mg2+ mass ratio for the preparation process were 13:15. The highest 5-HMF and furfural yields of the dehydration process were 90.2% and 95.4%, respectively. The specific surface area of the optimum Cr–Mg-LDO@bagasse catalyst was around 127.5 m2/g. The catalytic activity recovery was good even after five batch reactions. This study is helpful to establish an efficient catalytic reaction system for conversion of biomass-derived monosaccharides into corresponding furan compounds, so as to realize the high-efficiency and high-value conversion of biomass-derived sugars.