Abstract
The one-pot catalytic reductive etherification of furfural to 2-methoxymethylfuran (furfuryl methyl ether, FME), a valuable bio-based chemical or fuel, is reported. A large number of commercially available hydrogenation heterogeneous catalysts based on nickel, copper, cobalt, iridium, palladium and platinum catalysts on various support were evaluated by a high-throughput screening approach. The reaction was carried out in liquid phase with a 10% w/w furfural in methanol solution at 50 bar of hydrogen. Among all the samples tested, carbon-supported noble metal catalysts were found to be the most promising in terms of productivity and selectivity. In particular, palladium on charcoal catalysts show high selectivity (up to 77%) to FME. Significant amounts of furfuryl alcohol (FA) and 2-methylfuran (2-MF) are observed as the major by-products.
Highlights
IntroductionThe promotion of new, energy-efficient processes to produce fuels and chemicals from more sustainable sources are under constant investigation
The increase in energy consumption and the effects of global climate change on the environment has driven the effort of the scientific community towards the energetic emancipation from fossil fuels.the promotion of new, energy-efficient processes to produce fuels and chemicals from more sustainable sources are under constant investigation
The aim of this research is to identify the most promising family of metal catalysts and reaction conditions for the one-step production of 2-methoxymethylfuran from furfural, thereby avoiding the synthetic efficiency loss that generally occurs in multistep processes [23]
Summary
The promotion of new, energy-efficient processes to produce fuels and chemicals from more sustainable sources are under constant investigation. For this reason biomass is seen as a potential source of energy and, transportation fuels [1]. The petrochemical industry employs catalytic processes to introduce oxygen in hydrocarbons [7]. Advanced tools such as high-throughput screening and conceptual process development techniques, advanced data mining and computational chemistry can play a pivotal role in quickly finding economically attractive catalysts and/or process conditions [8,9,10]
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