Conversion of xylose into furfural over MC-SnOx and NaCl catalysts in a biphasic system

Furfural is a promising platform chemical that can be catalyzed from lignocellulose biomass. In this study, a novel micro-mesoporous carbon supported tin oxide catalyst (MC-SnOx) was developed to convert xylose into furfural in a low sodium chloride (NaCl) concentration and acid-free biphasic system. The catalysts synthesized by annealing from 400 degrees C to 600 degrees C for 3.5h were characterized by BET, SEM, XPS, XRD, NH3-TPD and FTIR techniques. The factor that mostly affected the catalytic performance was the acid concentration of the catalysts, and the best catalytic performance was achieved by MC-SnOx annealed at 450 degrees C. Further increasing the annealing temperature can cause reduction, volatilization and aggregation of Sn species, which can finally affect acid concentration and performance of the catalyst. In addition, a synergistic catalytic effect was found between MC-SnOx and NaCl and effectivity of low concentration of NaCl indicated the potential of applying seawater or wastewater containing NaCl as a low-cost reaction solvent and NaCl source. To balance the catalytic performance, cost, equipment safety and environmental concerns, a reasonable furfural yield of 53.9% was achieved over the MC-SnOx-450 and NaCl (0.2 M) in biphasic system under mild conditions (180 degrees C and 20 min) with a good catalyst reusability.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel MC-SnOx catalyst was developed for the conversion of xylose into furfural in a low NaCl concentration and acid-free biphasic system. The synthesis and characterization of the catalysts showed that acid concentration had a significant impact on catalytic performance. By balancing catalyst performance, cost, safety, and environmental concerns, a reasonable furfural yield was achieved under mild conditions with good catalyst reusability.