Production of furan based biofuel with an environmental benign carbon catalyst

Abstract

A sulfonated carbon material was developed and investigated as an environmentally benign catalyst for furfural production. The sulfonic acid functionality was introduced by sequential hydrothermal carbonization and sulfonation of xylose. The morphology and textural properties were examined by scanning electron microscopy and N2 sorption measurements, respectively. The presence of sulfonic acid on the surface was proven by both Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. Meanwhile, the acid properties were studied using an NH3‐TPD profile. Two different sulfonated carbons that was activated with KOH before sulfonation and one that was compared. The KOH‐activated sulfonated carbon contained both a porous structure and a high sulfonic acid content that improved the furfural yield and selectivity by more than 50% compared to the nonactivated sulfonated carbon. The reusability of the catalyst was investigated by monitoring the furfural selectivity over several reaction cycles, and after the 3rd cycle, a reduction in the selectivity from 72 to 30% was observed. However, the acid‐functionalized carbon could still be useful for furfural production due to its low environmental impact in both the preparation and disposal steps. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 37: 1455–1461, 2018