Sulfonic Acid Anchored Heterogeneous Acid‐Catalyst DICAT‐3 for Conversion of Xylose into Furfural in Biphasic Solvent System

Abstract

AbstractFurfural is most exigent biomass‐derived furanic molecule used for the production of renewable chemicals, fuels and polymers. In the present study, a series of sulfonic acid anchored heterogeneous catalysts (DICAT‐3) were synthesized for cyclodehydration of xylose into furfural in a biphasic solvent. The profound effect of catalyst backbone, solvent and reaction conditions were witnessed. Xylose dehydration in the presence of DICAT‐3 in the toluene/water biphasic solvent system provides high yield and conversion. The use of the biphasic solvent system in presence of DICAT‐3 offers ease of product and catalyst separation, respectively. Furthermore, the process intensification study was performed for the influence of reaction parameters on furfural yield and xylose conversion. Under optimized reaction conditions DICAT‐3 gave > 88% furfural yield with >99% of xylose conversion at 120 °C in toluene/water. The structural and surface morphological features of DICAT‐3 were investigated by FTIR, SEM/EDX, XRF and TGA analysis. The DICAT‐3 was tested for five consecutive recycle runs and it shows the consistent performance for xylose conversion and furfural yield without loss of catalytic activity. The exploration of DICAT‐3 offers specific advantages such as robust and recyclable catalysts, ease of product separation and non‐stringent reaction conditions with high yield. Thus, the reported process provides a platform for the development of a sustainable and economically viable process.