Dealuminated Hβ zeolite for selective conversion of fructose to furfural and formic acid

The fructose-to-furfural transformation is facing major challenges in the selectivity and high efficiency. Herein, we have developed a simple and effective approach for the selective conversion of fructose to furfural using Hβ zeolite modified by organic acids for dealuminization to regulate its textural and acidic properties. It was found that citric acid-dealuminized Hβ zeolite possessed high specific surface areas, wide channels and high Brønsted acid amount, which facilitated the selective conversion of fructose to furfural with a maximum yield of 76.2% at433 K for 1 h in the γ-butyrolactone(GBL)-H_(2)O system, as well as the concomitant formation of 83.0% formic acid. The^(13)C-isotope labelling experiments and the mechanism revealed that the selective cleavage of C1–C2 or C5–C6 bond on fructose was firstly occurred to form pentose or C5 intermediate by weak Brønsted acid, which was then dehydrated to furfural by strong Brønsted acid. Also this dealuminized Hβ catalyst showed the great recycling performance and was active for the conversion of glucose and mannose.

Sustainable Furfural Biomass Feedstocks Electrooxidation toward Value-Added Furoic Acid with Energy-Saving H_(2) Fuel Production Using Pt-Decorated Co_(3)O_(4) Nanospheres

Here,furfural oxidation was performed to replace the kinetically sluggish O_(2)evolution reaction(OER).Pt-Co_(3)O_(4)nanospheres were developed via pulsed laser ablation in liquid(PLAL)in a single step for the paired electrocatalysis of an H_(2)evolution reaction(HER)and furfural oxidation reaction(FOR).The FOR afforded a high furfural conversion(44.2%)with a major product of 2-furoic acid after a 2-h electrolysis at 1.55 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in a 1.0-M KOH/50-mM furfural electrolyte.The Pt-Co_(3)O_(4)electrode exhibited a small overpotential of 290 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2).As an anode and cathode in an electrolyzer system,the Pt-Co_(3)O_(4)electrocatalyst required only a small applied cell voltage of~1.83 V to deliver 10 mA cm^(-2),compared with that of the pure water electrolyzer(OER||HER,~1.99 V).This study simultaneously realized the integrated production of energy-saving H_(2)fuel at the cathode and 2-furoic acid at the anode.

Electrokinetic-mechanism of water and furfural oxidation on pulsed laser-interlaced Cu_(2)O and CoO on nickel foam

The electrocatalytic oxidation of biomass-derived furfural(FF)feedstocks into 2-furoic acid(FA)holds immense industrial potential in optics,cosmetics,polymers,and food.Herein,we fabricated Co O/Ni O/nickel foam(NF)and Cu_(2)O/Ni O/NF electrodes via in situ pulsed laser irradiation in liquids(PLIL)for the bifunctional electrocatalysis of oxygen evolution reaction(OER)and furfural oxidation reaction(FOR),respectively.Simultaneous oxidation of NF surface to NiO and deposition of CoO and/or Cu_(2)O on NF during PLIL offer distinct advantages for enhancing both the OER and FOR.CoO/NiO/NF electrocatalyst provides a consistently low overpotential of~359 m V(OER)at 10 m A/cm^(2),achieving the maximum FA yield(~16.37 m M)with 61.5%selectivity,79.5%carbon balance,and a remarkable Faradaic efficiency of~90.1%during 2 h of FOR at 1.43 V(vs.reversible hydrogen electrode).Mechanistic pathway via in situ electrochemical-Raman spectroscopy on CoO/NiO/NF reveals the involvement of phase transition intermediates(NiOOH and CoOOH)as surface-active centers during electrochemical oxidation.The carbonyl carbon in FF is attacked by hydroxyl groups to form unstable hydrates that subsequently undergo further oxidation to yield FA products.This method holds promise for large-scale applications,enabling simultaneous production of renewable building materials and fuel.

Corrosion behavior of co-gasification slag of furfural residue and coal on alumina-silica refractories

Gasification of furfural residue with coal can realize its efficient and clean utilization.But the high alkali metal content in furfural slag is easy to cause the corrosion of gasifier refractory.Two gasification coals with different silica alumina ratio and a furfural residue were selected in the study.The effects of furfural residue additions on corrosion of silica brick,corundum brick,high alumina brick and mullite brick were investigated by using XRD,SEM-EDS and Factsage Software,and the corrosion mechanism was analyzed.With increasing furfural residue addition,the permeability of the slags to high-aluminium-bearing refractories first decreases and then increases,while the permeability on silica brick shows a slight decrease trend.Leucite(KAlSi_(2)O_(6))with high-melting temperature is generated from the reaction of K_(2)O and SiO_(2)in slag with Al_(2)O_(3)in refractories after furfural residue is added,which hinders the infiltration of slag in refractories.Kaliophilite(KAlSiO_(4))of low-melting point is formed when K_(2)O content increases,and this contributes to the infiltration of slag in refractories.The acid-base reaction between slag and silica brick is distinctly occurred,more slag reacts with SiO_(2)in the silicon brick,resulting in a decrease in the amount of slag infiltrating into the silicon brick as furfural residue is added.The corrosion of silica brick is mainly caused by the acid-base reaction,while the corrosion of three alumina based refractory bricks of corundum,mullite and high alumina brick is determined by slag infiltration.A linear correlation between the percolation rate and slag viscosity is established,the slag permeability increases with decreasing viscosity,resulting in stronger permeability for the high Si/Al ratio slag with lower viscosity.

P-induced electron transfer interaction for enhanced selective hydrogenation rearrangement of furfural to cyclopentanone

Optimizing the intrinsic activity of non-noble metal by precisely tailoring electronic structure offers an appealing way to construct cost-effective catalysts for selective biomass valorization.Herein,we reported a P-doping bifunctional catalyst(Ni-P/mSiO_(2))that achieved 96.6%yield for the hydrogenation rearrangement of furfural to cyclopentanone at mild conditions(1 MPaH_(2),150°C).The turnover frequency of Ni-P/mSiO_(2)was 411.9 h^(-1),which was 3.2-fold than that of Ni/mSiO_(2)(127.2 h^(-1)).Detailed characterizations and differential charge density calculations revealed that the electron-deficient Niδ+species were generated by the electron transfer from Ni to P,which promoted the ring rearrangement reaction.Density functional theory calculations illustrated that the presence of P atoms endowed furfural tilted adsorb on the Ni surface by the C=O group and facilitated the desorption of cyclopentanone.This work unraveled the connection between the localized electronic structures and the catalytic properties,so as to provide a promising reference for designing advanced catalysts for biomass valorization.

Enhanced bimetallic CuCo nanoparticles on nitrogen-doped carbon for selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol through strong electronic interactions

Bimetallic CuCo catalysts with different Cu to Co ratios on N-doped porous carbon materials(N-C)were achieved using impregnation method and applied in the hydrogenation of furfural(FAL)to furfuryl alcohol(FOL).The high hydrogenation activity of FAL over Cu_(1)Co_(1)/N-C was originated from the synergistic interactions of Cu and Co species,where Co^(0)and Cu^(0)simultaneously adsorb and activate H_(2),and Cu^(+) served as Lewis acid sites to activate C]O.Meanwhile,electrons transfer from Cu to Co promoted the formation of Cu^(+).In situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis indicated that Cu_(1)Co_(1)/N-C adsorbed FAL with a tilted η^(1)-(O)configuration.The superior Cu_(1)Co_(1)/N-C showed excellent adsorbed ability towards H_(2) and FAL,but weak adsorption for FOL.Therefore,Cu_(1)Co_(1)/N-C possessed 93.1%FAL conversion and 99.0% FOL selectivity after 5 h reaction,which also exhibited satisfactory reusability in FAL hydrogenation for five cycles.

Linear paired electrolysis of furfural to furoic acid at both anode and cathode in a multiple redox mediated system

Implementing a new energy-saving electrochemical synthesis system with high commercial value is a strategy of the sustainable development for upgrading the bulk chemicals preparation technology in the future.Here,we report a multiple redox-mediated linear paired electrolysis system,combining the hydrogen peroxide mediated cathode process with the I2 mediated anode process,and realize the conversion of furfural to furoic acid in both side of the dividedflow cell simultaneously.By reasonably controlling the cathode potential,the undesired water splitting reaction and furfural reduction side reactions are avoided.Under the galvanostatic electrolysis,the two-mediated electrode processes have good compatibility,which reduce the energy consumption by about 22%while improving the electronic efficiency by about 125%.This system provides a green electrochemical synthesis route with commercial prospects.

Acetic acid-and furfural-based adaptive evolution of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for improving stress tolerance and lignocellulosic ethanol production

Acetic acid and furfural are known as prevalent inhibitors deriving from pretreatment during lignocellulosic ethanol production.They negatively impact cell growth,glucose uptake and ethanol biosynthesis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains.Development of industrial S.cerevisiae strains with high tolerance towards these inhibitors is thus critical for efficient lignocellulosic ethanol production.In this study,the acetic acid or furfural tolerance of different S.cerevisiae strains could be significantly enhanced after adaptive evolution via serial cultivation for 40 generations under stress conditions.The acetic acid-based adaptive strain SPSC01-TA9 produced 30.5 g·L^(-1)ethanol with a yield of 0.46 g·g^(-1)in the presence of 9 g·L^(-1)acetic acid,while the acetic acid/furfural-based adaptive strain SPSC01-TAF94 produced more ethanol of 36.2 g·L^(-1)with increased yield up to 0.49 g·g^(-1)in the presence of both 9 g·L^(-1)acetic acid and 4 g·L^(-1)furfural.Significant improvements were also observed during non-detoxified corn stover hydrolysate culture by SPSC01-TAF94,which achieved ethanol production and yield of 29.1 g·L^(-1)and 0.49 g·g^(-1),respectively,the growth and fermentation efficiency of acetic acid/furfural-based adaptive strain in hydrolysate was 95%higher than those of wildtype strains,indicating the acetic acid-and furfural-based adaptive evolution strategy could be an effective approach for improving lignocellulosic ethanol production.The adapted strains developed in this study with enhanced tolerance against acetic acid and furfural could be potentially contribute to economically feasible and sustainable lignocellulosic biorefinery.

Furfural residues derived nitrogen-sulfur co-doped sheet-like carbon: An excellent electrode for dual carbon lithium-ion capacitors

The state-of-the-art lithium-ion capacitors (LICs),consisting of high-capacity battery-type anode and high-rate capacitor-type cathode,can deliver high energy density and large power density when comparing with traditional supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries,respectively.However,the ion kinetics mismatch between cathode and anode leads to unsatisfied cycling lifetime and anode degradation.Tremendous efforts have been devoted to solving the abovementioned issue.One promising strategy is altering high conductive hard carbon anode with excellent structural stability to match with activated carbon cathode,assembling dual-carbon LIC.In this contribution,one-pot in-situ expansion and heteroatom doping strategy was adopted to prepare sheet-like hard carbon,while activated carbon was obtained involving activation.Ammonium persulfate was used as expanding and doping agent simultaneously.While furfural residues (FR) were served as carbon precursor.The resulting hard carbon (FRNS-HC) and activated carbon (FRNS-AC)show excellent electrochemical performance as negative and positive electrodes in a lithium-ion battery (LIB).To be specific,374.2 m Ah g^(-1)and 123.1 m Ah g^(-1)can be achieved at 0.1 A g^(-1)and 5 A g^(-1)when FRNS-HC was tested as anode.When combined with a highly porous carbon cathode (S_(BET)=2961 m^(2)g^(-1)) synthesized from the same precursor,the LIC showed high specific energy of147.67 Wh kg^(-1)at approximately 199.93 W kg^(-1),and outstanding cycling life with negligible capacitance fading over 1000 cycles.This study could lead the way for the development of heteroatom-doped porous carbon nanomaterials applied to Li-based energy storage applications.

Enhancing photo-generated carriers transfer of K-C_(3)N_(4)/UiO-66-NH_(2) with Er doping for efficient photocatalytic oxidation of furfural to furoic acid

Biomass-derived platform molecules,such as furfural,are abundant and renewable feedstock for valuable chemical production.It is critical to synthesize highly efficient photocatalysts for selective oxidation under visible light.The Er@K-C_(3)N_(4)/UiO-66-NH_(2) catalyst was synthesized using a straight-forward hydrothermal technique,and exhibited exceptional efficiency in the photocatalytic oxidation of furfural to furoic acid.The catalyst was thoroughly characterized,confirming the effective adjustment of the band gap energy of Er@K-C_(3)N_(4)/UiO-66-NH_(2).Upon the optimized reaction conditions,the conversion rate of furfural reached 89.3%,with a corresponding yield of furoic acid at 79.8%.The primary reactive oxygen species was identified as·O_(2)^(-) from ESR spectra and scavenger tests.The incorporation of Er and K into the catalyst enhanced the photogenerated carriers transfer rate,hence increasing the separating efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.This study expands the potential applications of rare earth element doped g-C_(3)N_(4) in the photocatalytic selective oxidation of furfurans.

Vanillin Based Polymers:VI.Poly(hydrovanilloin-furfural)and Poly(hydrovanilloin-5-hydroxymethylfurfural)

Renewable resources based polymers provides a sustainable alternative to petroleum derived polymeric materials.As a part of our series on synthesis of vanillin based renewable polymers,we report the synthesis of poly(hydrovanilloin-furfural)[poly(HVL-Fur)]and poly(hydrovanilloin–5-hydromethylfurfural)[poly(HVL-5-HMF)].Vanillin was dimerized to a mixtures of meso/DL-hydrovanilloins with 94%meso product by electrochemical reductive coupling in aqueous sodium hydroxide using lead electrodes in quantitative yield.Then sodium hydroxide catalyzed condensation of hydrovanilloin with furfural in water at 80℃for 72 h was used to synthesize poly(HVL-Fur)with Mw=8600 g mol^(−1),PDI=1.28 in 78%yield.Similarly,condensation of hydrovanilloin with 5-hydroxymethylfurfural at 80℃for 48 h produced poly(HVL-5-HMF)with Mw=12,100 g mol−1,PDI=1.27 in 68%yield.poly(HVL-Fur)and poly(HVL-5-HMF)showed similar Tg values of 59℃and 60℃,respectively;whereas melting behaviors are dissimilar with Tm 171℃–173℃and 148℃–182℃,respectively.

Highly selective supported gold catalyst for CO-driven reduction of furfural in aqueous media

The reductive transformation of furfural （FAL） into furfuryl alcohol （FOL） is an attractive route for the use of renewable bio‐sources but it suffers from the heavy use of H2. We describe here a highly efficient reduction protocol for converting aqueous FAL to FOL. A single phase rutile TiO2 support with a gold catalyst （Au/TiO2‐R） that used CO/H2O as the hydrogen source catalyze this reduction efficiently under mild conditions. By eliminating the consumption of fossil fuel‐derived H2, our pro‐cess has the benefit afforded by using CO as a convenient and cost competitive reducing reagent.

Study on Adsorption Behavior of P-nitroaniline from Aqueous Solution by Amphiphilic Hollow Carbonaceous Microspheres

[Objective] The research was aimed to study the adsorption behavior of p-nitroaniline from aqueous solution by porous hollow carbonaceous spheres （PHCSs）.[Method] The effects of pH,temperature and amount of carbonaceous microspheres on adsorption behavior of p-nitroaniline were investigated.[Result] The adsorption amount was affected by temperature slightly,and it decreased with the increase of temperature within a certain range.PHCSs had a higher adsorption capacity as pH was in the range of 2.0-8.0.The adsorption amount of p-nitroaniline was proportional to PHCSs amount within a certain range until it reached a saturation level.The adsorption isotherms of p-nitroaniline appeared to be nonlinear and obeyed to Freundlich equation very well.[Conclusion] The amphiphilic property and the specific chemical functional groups of PHCSs enable them to be a potentially excellent sorbent.

High-efficiency oxidative esterification of furfural to methylfuroate with a non-precious metal Co-N-C/MgO catalyst

From both fundamental and practical perspectives, the production of chemicals from biomass re-sources using high-efficiency non-precious metal catalysts is important. However, many processes require addition of stoichiometric or excess quantities of base, which leads to high energy consump-tion, leaching problems, and side reactions. In this study, we investigated the high-efficiency oxida-tive esterification of furfural to methylfuroate by molecular oxygen with a Co-N-C/MgO catalyst. The catalyst was prepared by direct pyrolysis of a cobalt（Ⅱ） phenanthroline complex on MgO at 800℃ under N2 atmosphere. From furfural, 93.0% conversion and 98.5% selectivity toward methylfuroate were achieved under 0.5 MPa O2 with reaction at 100 ℃ for 12 h without a basic additive. The con-version and selectivity were much higher than those obtained with cobalt catalysts produced by pyrolysis of a cobalt（Ⅱ） phenanthroline complex on activated carbon or typical basic supports, in-cluding NaX, NaY, and CaO. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission elec-tron microscopy, and experimental results revealed that the high efficiency of Co-N-C/MgO for pro-duction of methylfuroate was closely related to the cobalt-nitrogen-doped carbon species and its catalytic ability in hydrogen abstraction. In contrast, Co-N-C（HCl） that synthesized by removing MgO with HCl from Co-N-C/MgO, as the catalyst produced mainly an acetal as a condensation prod-uct, and chloride ions had a negative effect on the oxidative esterification. Although the catalytic performance of the cobalt-nitrogen-doped carbon species was greatly affected by HCl treatment, it could be recovered to a great extent by addition of MgO. Moreover, changes in the oxygen pressure hardly affected the oxidative esterification of furfural with Co-N-C/MgO. This study not only pro-vides an effective approach to prepare methylfuroate, but also for designing high-performance non-precious metal catalysts for the oxidative esterification of biomass-derived compounds.

Aqueous-phase catalytic hydrogenation of furfural to cyclopentanol over Cu-Mg-Al hydrotalcites derived catalysts:Model reaction for upgrading of bio-oil

A series of Cu-Mg-Al hydrotalcites derived oxides with a(Cu+Mg)/Al mole ratio of 3 and varied Cu/Mg mole ratio(from 0.07 to 0.30) were prepared by co-precipitation and calcination methods, then they were introduced to the hydrogenation of furfural in aqueous-phase. Effects of Cu/Mg mole ratio, reaction temperature, initial hydrogen pressure, reaction time and catalyst amount on the conversion rate of furfural as well as the selectivity toward desired product cyclopentanol were systematically investigated. The conversion of furfural over calcined hydrotalcite catalyst with a Cu/Mg mole ratio of 0.2 was up to 98.5% when the reaction was carried out under 140 ?C and the initial hydrogen pressure of 4 MPa for 10 h, while the selectivity toward cyclopentanol was up to 94.8%. The catalysts were characterized by XRD and SEM. XRD diffraction of all the samples showed characteristic pattern of hydrotalcite with varied peak intensity as a result of different Cu content. The catalytic activity was improved gradually with the increase of Cu component in the hydrotalcite.

Synthesis of condensed polynuclear aromatic resin from furfural extract oil of reduced-pressure route Ⅱ

As an industrial byproduct of oil refining,furfural extract oil from reduced-pressure route Ⅱ with high aromatic content was used to prepare heat-resistant condensed polynuclear aromatic（COPNA） resin for the first time.The basic properties of furfural extract oil and the resultant COPNA resin were characterized by infrared spectroscopy（FT-IR）,nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy（1H-NMR）,thermogravimetric analysis（TGA） and elemental analysis（EA）.The result showed that heat treated furfural extract oil was successfully used for the synthesis of heat-resistant COPNA resin.The average structural parameters of raw materials and prepared resin were calculated by the improved Brown-Ladner method,and the averaged molecular structure of the resin was obtained.The reaction mechanism for the synthesis of COPNA resin was suggested as an acid-catalyzed positive ion type polymerization.

Highly stable and selective Ru/NiFe2O4 catalysts for transfer hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural to 2-methylfuran

Spinel ferrites NiFeOsupported Ru catalysts have been prepared via a simple sol–gel route and applied for converting biomass-derived furfural to 2-methylfuran. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis（TG）, Nadsorption–desorption, X-ray diffraction（XRD）, scanning electronic microscopy（SEM）, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）. Results showed that the catalysts had well-dispersed Ru active sites and large surface area for calcination temperature ranging from 300 to 500 ℃. The conversion of biomass-derived furfural into 2-methylfuran was conducted over Ru/NiFeOthrough catalytic transfer hydrogenation in liquid-phase with 2-propanol as the hydrogen source. A significantly enhanced activity and increased 2-methylfuran yield have been achieved in this study. Under mild conditions（180 ℃ and 2.1 MPa N）, the conversion of furfural exceeds 97% and 2-methylfuran yield was up to 83% over the catalyst containing 8 wt% Ru. After five repeated uses, the catalytic activity and the corresponding product yield remained almost unchanged. The excellent catalytic activity and recycling performance provide a broad prospects for various practical applications.

Dehydration of xylose to furfural over niobium phosphate catalyst in biphasic solvent system

Phosphoric acid treated niobic acid(NbP)was used for the dehydration of xylose to furfural in biphasic solvent system,which was found to exhibit the best performance among the tested catalysts.The excellent performance of NbP could be explained by the better synergistic cooperation between Bro¨nsted and Lewis acid sites.Moreover,NbP showed good stability and no obvious deactivation or leaching of Nb could be observed after six continuous recycles.

Influence of furfural concentration on growth and ethanol yield of Saccharomyces kluyveri

Furfural is an important inhibitor in ethanol fermentation process using lignocellulosic hydrolysates as raw materials. In order to find out the furfural concentration range in which furfural inhibits the fermentation process, we used one strain Saccharomyces kluyveri selected from soil and cultured in several different furfural content media under low glucose concentration condition. Experiment results showed that microorganism growth was stimulated and dry cell weight decreased when furfural concentration in the medium was 0.25 mg/ml. Furfural had negative effect on cell growth when its concentration was above 1.00 mg/ml. At the same time, the strain growed better and had a higher glucose consumption rate in 5% original glucose concentration condition than in 3% original glucose concentration condition. The results showed that appropriate exaltation of original glucose concentration in stalk hydrolysates will increase the strain resistance to furfural.

Efficient hydrolysis of hemicellulose to furfural by novel superacid SO_4H-functionalized ionic liquids

Novel superacid SO_4H-functionalized ionic liquids(SFILs) were designed and prepared in this work. The catalytic activities of SFILs were evaluated in xylan hydrolysis and xylose dehydration to produce furfural. Combined with the results of acid strength of SFILs characterized by solid-state ^(31)P MAS NMR, it was found that the catalytic performance of SFILs was positively correlated to their acid strength. The superacid SFIL [Ch-SO_4H][CF_3SO_3] displayed the best catalytic performance with more than 80% yield of furfural, and it was also obviously superior to usual SO_3H-functionalized acidic ILs, mineral liquid acids, and acidic resin Amberlyst-15 catalysts in catalytic activity under optimized conditions. In addition, the superacid SFIL [Ch-SO_4H][CF_3SO_3] could be easily separated from reaction system and reused at least five times without obvious decrease.