Open Access
ARTICLE
Abstract
The main principles of the technological realisation of the furfural
obtaining process have been formulated by Ricard [1]. Based on his recommendations, all investigators proceeded from the assumption that the depolymerisation
of pentosans and the dehydration of pentoses in the one-step production of furfural from raw plant material must be accelerated with diluted catalyst solutions.
According to this theory, uniform impregnation of the raw material with a catalyst
solution is considered necessary. The reduction in the amount of the catalyst solution down to 30–40% of the mass of the dry raw material, suggested by Miner
et al. [2], made the process of furfural production profitable and it prompted
industrial production. Their technology is being successfully using also now at
more than 140 furfural plants in China, where the furfural yield is only 45% of
the theoretical yield and 50% of the cellulose in the lignocellulosic residue is
destroyed during the process of obtaining furfural. Therefore, the residue of
the raw material after furfural production may only be used as fuel or fertiliser.
A simultaneous solution to these two problems has not been possible without
changing the chemical mechanism of the depolymerisation and dehydration reactions during the furfural formation process. Using birch wood as a raw material,
we simultaneously addressed these two problems using the following two catalysts: acetic acid for the depolymerisation of pentosans and concentrated sulfuric
acid for the dehydration of pentoses, producing furfural. As a result, the furfural
yield increased and the new furfural production technologies from hardwood and
other raw plant materials were realised at 10 plants in 3 countries. A licence was
sold, and contracts with companies in Slovenia, Hungary and Russia were successfully performed.
Keywords
Cite This Article
APA Style
Vedernikovs, N. (2020). Differential catalysis of depolymerisation and dehydration reactions: producing furfural from plant biomass. Journal of Renewable Materials, 8(6), 661-674. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2020.09274
Vancouver Style
Vedernikovs N. Differential catalysis of depolymerisation and dehydration reactions: producing furfural from plant biomass. J Renew Mater. 2020;8(6):661-674 https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2020.09274
IEEE Style
N. Vedernikovs, "Differential Catalysis of Depolymerisation and Dehydration Reactions: Producing Furfural from Plant Biomass," J. Renew. Mater., vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 661-674. 2020. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2020.09274