Curtin University Homepage
  • Library
  • Help
    • Admin

    espace - Curtin’s institutional repository

    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item

    Acid-catalyzed conversion of Xylose in 20 solvents: Insight into interactions of the solvents with Xylose, Furfural, and the Acid Catalyst

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Hu, Xun
    Westerhof, Roel
    Dong, Dehua
    Wu, Liping
    Li, Chun-Zhu
    Date
    2014
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Hu, X. and Westerhof, R. and Dong, D. and Wu, L. and Li, C. 2014. Acid-catalyzed conversion of Xylose in 20 solvents: Insight into interactions of the solvents with Xylose, Furfural, and the Acid Catalyst. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 2 (11): pp. 2562-2575.
    Source Title
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
    DOI
    10.1021/sc5004659
    ISSN
    2168-0485
    School
    Department of Chemical Engineering
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35812
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    In this study, the acid-catalyzed conversion of xylose to furfural was investigated in 20 solvents ranging from water, alcohol, ketones, furans, ethers, esters, hydrocarbons, and aromatics with the aim to understand their involvement in each step from xylose to furfural. Compared with water, alcohols can stabilize the reactive intermediates, promote the formation of furfural, and slow its degradation with prolonged reaction times. Iso-propanol and 2-butanol can direct the conversion of xylose to levulinic esters via transfer hydrogenation catalyzed by a Brønsted acid catalyst. The other solvents with the carbonyl groups (i.e., ketones) or conjugated π bonds (e.g., furan) react with both xylose and furfural. Either xylose cannot make its way to furfural or furfural cannot survive for long in these solvents. In ethers, hydrocarbons, and aromatics, the formation of furfural is quick but so is the degradation of furfural due to the aprotic properties of these solvents. In an ester like methyl formate, xylose can be converted to furfural selectively and efficiently. Approximately 70% yields of furfural were achieved at 150 °C in a very short time, and more importantly, methyl formate is highly volatile (boiling point: 32 °C). It can be distilled from furfural very easily, making it a promising solvent for furfural production. The solvents also interact with the acidic resin catalysts in varied ways due to their different polarities and molecular size/shape, determining the availability of the acidic sites on the inner surfaces of the catalysts.

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Biomass-derived sugars and furans: Which polymerize more during their hydrolysis?
      Hu, Xun; Kadarwati, S.; Wang, S.; Song, Y.; Hasan, M.; Li, Chun-Zhu (2015)
      Sugars and furans are important intermediates during the conversion of non-food lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels and chemicals. In this study, polymerization of the sugars (glucose, fructose, xylose) and furans ...
    • Acid-Catalyzed Conversion of Xylose in Methanol-RichMedium as Part of Biorefinery
      Hu, Xun; Lievens, Caroline; Li, Chun-Zhu (2012)
      Acid treatments of xylose have been performed in a methanol/water mixture to investigate the reaction pathways of xylose during bio-oil esterification. Xylose was mainly converted into methyl xylosides with negligible ...
    • One-Pot Synthesis of Levulinic Acid/Ester from C5 Carbohydrates in a Methanol Medium
      Hu, Xun; Song, Yao; Wu, Liping; Gholizadeh, Mortaza; Li, Chun-Zhu (2013)
      A process for direct conversion of xylose to methyl levulinate and levulinic acid has been developed in this study. A methanol medium, solid acid catalyst Amberlyst 70, and hydrogenation catalyst Pd/Al2O3 were used to ...
    Advanced search

    Browse

    Communities & CollectionsIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument TypeThis CollectionIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument Type

    My Account

    Admin

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Follow Curtin

    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 

    CRICOS Provider Code: 00301JABN: 99 143 842 569TEQSA: PRV12158

    Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy statement | Accessibility

    Curtin would like to pay respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of our community by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Perth campus is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation; and on our Kalgoorlie campus, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields.