Production of bio-based furfural from xylose over a recyclable niobium phosphate (NbOPO₃) catalyst

ABSTRACT

Aqueous-phase catalytic conversion of biomass-derived xylose to value-added furfural typically involves cascade xylose-to-xylulose isomerization and dehydration. To simplify this catalytic process with improved efficiency, a Lewis and Brønsted acid bifunctional NbOPO₃ catalyst was synthesized by an impregnation method. The effects of reaction time/temperature, catalyst dosage, and the substrate concentration, as well as reaction kinetics, were studied. A high furfural yield of 54.9 mol% was obtained at 180°C for 3 h. The synergistic effect of Lewis and Brønsted acid sites in the highly recyclable NbOPO₃ catalyst was demonstrated to be important for efficient conversion of xylose to furfural.

KEYWORDS:

• Biofuels
• biomass conversion
• xylose
• furfural
• heterogeneous catalysis

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China: [grant Numbers 21576059 and 21666008] and Key Technologies R&D Program of China: [Grant Number 2014BAD23B01].

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China: [grant Numbers 21576059 and 21666008] and Key Technologies R&D Program of China: [Grant Number 2014BAD23B01].