Efficient Synthesis of Furfural from Corncob by a Novel Biochar-Based Heterogeneous Chemocatalyst in Choline Chloride: Maleic Acid–Water

oleh: Linsong Yang, Yucheng Li, Yuqi Wu, Yucai He, Cuiluan Ma

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-09-01

Deskripsi

The use of plentiful and renewable feedstock for producing chemicals is fundamental for the development of sustainable chemical processes. Using fish scale as a biobased carrier, a novel biochar SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>/SnO<sub>2</sub>-FFS heterogeneous chemocatalyst was prepared to catalyze furfural production from xylose-rich corncob-hydrolysates obtained from acid hydrolysis of corncob in a deep eutectic solvent (DES)–water system. By characterizing the physical as well as chemical properties of SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>/SnO<sub>2</sub>-FFS by NH<sub>3</sub>-TPD, FT-IR, XPS, XRD, and SEM, it was shown that the chemocatalyst had Lewis/Brönsted acid centers, and its surface roughness could be well expanded to contact substrates. The corncob was initially hydrolyzed at 140 °C to obtain xylose-rich hydrolysate. Subsequently, SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>/SnO<sub>2</sub>-FFS (3.6 wt.%) was used to catalyze the corn cob hydrolysate containing <i>D</i>-xylose (20.0 g/L) at a reaction temperature of 170 °C for 15 min. Additionally, ZnCl<sub>2</sub> (20.0 g/L) was added. Ultimately, furfural (93.8 mM, 70.5% yield) was produced in the deep eutectic solvent ChCl:maleic acid–water (DES<sub>MLA</sub>–water = 10:90, <i>v</i>/<i>v</i>). A synergistic catalytic mechanism for transforming xylose-rich corncob-hydrolysate into furfural and byproducts were proposed using SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>/SnO<sub>2</sub>-FFS as a chemocatalyst in DES<sub>MLA</sub>–water containing ZnCl<sub>2</sub>. Consequently, the efficient use of biochar SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>/SnO<sub>2</sub>-FFS chemocatalysts for the sustainable synthesis of biobased furan compounds from biomass holds great promise in the future.