Abstract
It has previously been reported that the use of microwave heating, together with the presence of co-solvents, improves the efficiency of furfural production from biomass. Solid acid catalysts can be a good alternative to mineral acids, since they can prevent corrosion and can be reused. However, the formation of humines should be minimized. Several delaminated and fluorinated hectorites, with different types and strengths of acid sites, were synthesized and tested as catalysts for the production of furfural from commercial xylose and from an acid biomass extract of almond shells. A new methodology was developed to prepare crystalline fluorohectorite at 800 °C in just 3 h. The presence of F significantly increased the acidity strength in the protonated fluorohectorite (H-FH) taking into account its high ammonia desorption temperature (721 °C). Additionally, this sample had fourteen times higher total acidity by m2 than the reference H-βeta acid catalyst. H-FH was the most efficient catalyst at short reaction times (1 h) for the transformation of xylose to furfural under microwaves using toluene as co-solvent, regardless of whether the xylose was commercial (20% furfural yield) or an extract of almond shells (60% furfural yield). However, the acidity of the extract affected the fluorohectorite structure and composition.
Highlights
The strong dependence of society on crude oil, together with its risk of depletion, is prompting scientists to focus on research into new resources from which chemicals can be obtained
Furfural can be produced by hydrolysis and subsequent dehydration of the xylan existing in large amounts in hemicellulose
We propose two main studies: the optimization optimization of the synthesis methodology methodology to to obtain obtain fluorohectorites, fluorohectorites, and and the the study study of of the the catalytic catalytic behavior behavior of of several several hectorites, hectorites, with with different different acidity, for the production of furfural from xylose aqueous solutions using microwave heating and toluene as co-solvent
Summary
The strong dependence of society on crude oil, together with its risk of depletion, is prompting scientists to focus on research into new resources from which chemicals can be obtained. Furfural is considered an important building block in the chemical industry, since it can be applied for the synthesis of a vast range of chemical products [1]. Furfural can be produced by hydrolysis and subsequent dehydration of the xylan existing in large amounts in hemicellulose. The most frequently used biomass resources are agriculture wastes with high hemicellulose content, such as corncobs, oat bran, wheat bran, etc. Production of almonds has an important impact on the local agriculture of the Tarragona area (Catalonia). They are usually commercialized without the shell, which is burned. Considering that the hemicellulose content of almond shells is around 30% [4], we propose revalorizing this biomass waste by producing furfural
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