Fecha de publicación: 19/12/2024 Fuente: Cellulose (Springer) Abstract
This paper reports a facile and efficient process for the synthesis of furfuryl alcohol (FAL) from xylan in an isopropanol/MSH (CaCl2·4H2O) biphasic system. The conversion of xylan reached over 99.9%, with a FAL yield of 62 mol% at 150 °C for 2 h. Notably, isopropanol served dual roles as both the hydrogen donor and the organic phase, playing a pivotal role in the extraction and preservation of FAL. Additionally, self-prepared MSH was employed as the aqueous phase, concurrently functioning as a solvent and catalyst. Remarkably, the product distribution (furfuryl alcohol, levulinic acid, and γ-valerolactone) could be effectively modulated by adjusting the reaction time. Furthermore, the mechanism of FAL production from xylan revealed that FAL was obtained via the xylose-xylitol-furfuryl alcohol route, rather than the xylose-furfural-furfuryl alcohol pathway. The catalyst could be recovered through simple procedures, maintaining a FAL yield of approximately 60 mol% after three cycles of recovery, thereby laying the foundation for the facile and efficient industrial production of FAL from lignocellulosic biomass.