Abstract
In the pursuit of establishing a sustainable biobased economy, valorization of lignocellulosic biomass is increasing its value as a feedstock. Nevertheless, to achieve the integrated biorefinery paradigm, the selective fractionation of its complex matrix to its single constituents must be complete. This review presents and examines the novel catalytic pathways to form furfuryl alcohol (FuOH) from xylose in a one-pot system. This production concept takes on chemical, thermochemical and biochemical transformations or a combination of them. Still, the bulk of the research is targeted to develop heterogeneous catalytic systems to synthesize FuOH from furfural and xylose. The present review includes an overview of the economic aspects to produce this platform chemical in an industrial manner. In the last section of this review, an outlook and summary of catalytic processes to produce FuOH are highlighted.
Highlights
Owing to the continuous global demand and concerns related to chemicals, fuels and materials produced from the oil industry, which currently supplies most of these substances consumed on the planet, and the dependency of the global economy on them, alternative renewable resources have gained momentum in industry and academia
In the case of FUR, more than 70% of its market is devoted to the synthesis of furfuryl alcohol (FuOH), whose market is growing continuously [10]
The current commercial production of FuOH from FUR is performed on a Cu-Cr catalyst, which is associated with toxic effluents from chromium compounds, rapid deactivation and harsh process conditions
Summary
Owing to the continuous global demand and concerns related to chemicals, fuels and materials produced from the oil industry (i.e., coal, natural gas and gasoline), which currently supplies most of these substances consumed on the planet, and the dependency of the global economy on them, alternative renewable resources have gained momentum in industry and academia In this sense, lignocellulosic biomass is becoming an attractive alternative to substitute fossil derivatives in the production of fuels and chemicals in liquid, solid and gas form [1]. Furfuryl alcohol (FuOH, C4 H3 OCH2 OH, 2-furylmethanol, 2-furancarbinol) has applications in the fabrication of foundry resins, the ingredient production of P-series fuels, in liquid alkanes and in food production [11,12,13] It is a very important intermediate in fine chemical synthesis and the polymer industry, and it is used as a chemical intermediate for the synthesis of lysine, vitamin C and levulinic acid and employed as a lubricant and as a dispersing agent [14]. The selective hydrogenation of FUR towards FuOH depends on various elements governing the intramolecular selectivity of the hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes [50], such as metal–support interaction, electronic and steric influence of the support, morphology of the metal particles, selective poisoning, influence and nature of the second metal, pressure and the steric effects of substituents at the conjugated double bond
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