Process for furfural production from biomass
View Patent ↗Furfural is produced from a lignocellulosic feedstock comprising glucan and xylan. The feedstock is contacted with water in the presence of an acid catalyst. The resulting mixture is contacted with at least one water-immiscible organic solvent to form a mixture comprising an aqueous phase and an organic phase. Under suitable reaction conditions, furfural is produced and preferentially partitions into the organic phase, from which it may be recovered.
1. A process for the selective production of furfural, the process comprising the steps of:
a) providing a lignocellulosic feedstock comprising glucan and xylan;
b) contacting the feedstock with water in the presence of an acid catalyst to form a mixture;
c) contacting the mixture formed in step b) with at least one water-immiscible organic solvent in a reactor and heating to a temperature from about 100° C. to about 220° C. to form a mixture comprising an aqueous phase and a furfural-containing organic phase,
wherein the organic solvent and water are present in a weight ratio in the range of 7.7:1 to 32.1:1,
wherein the organic phase further comprises 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural, and the weight ratio of furfural to 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural in the organic phase is at least 10:1 or higher, and
wherein the water-immiscible organic solvent comprises at least one aliphatic hydrocarbon, cycloalkane, aromatic hydrocarbon, polyether containing ester or ether end groups, plant-derived oil, or mixtures thereof; and
d) recovering furfural from the organic phase.
2. The process of claim 1 , wherein step b) is performed prior to step c).
3. The process of claim 1 , wherein steps b) and c) are performed concurrently.
4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the acid catalyst comprises a mineral acid, a heteropolyacid, an organic acid, or a combination thereof.
5. The process of claim 4 , wherein the acid catalyst is a mineral acid comprising sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, or a combination of these.
6. The process of claim 4 , wherein the acid catalyst is a heteropolyacid comprising phosphotungstic acid, molybdophosphoric acid, or a combination of these.
7. The process of claim 4 , wherein the acid catalyst is an organic acid comprising oxalic acid, formic acid, acetic acid, an alkyl sulfonic acid, an aryl sulfonic acid, a halogenated acetic acid, a halogenated alkylsulfonic acid, a halogenated aryl sulfonic acid, or a combination of these.
8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the at least one water-immiscible organic solvent is an aliphatic hydrocarbon comprising CF 3 CH 2 CH 2 CHF 2 , CF 3 CF 2 CFHCFHCF 3 , CF 3 CF 2 CHCl 2 , or mixtures thereof.
9. The process of claim 1 , wherein the at least one water-immiscible organic solvent is a cycloalkane comprising cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane, or mixtures thereof.
10. The process of claim 1 , wherein the at least one water-immiscible organic solvent is an aromatic hydrocarbon comprising benzene, toluene, a xylene, trifluorotoluene, or mixtures thereof.
11. The process of claim 1 , wherein the at least one water-immiscible organic solvent is a polyether comprising polyethylene glycol containing ester or ether end groups, polypropylene glycol containing ester or ether end groups, or mixtures thereof.
12. The process of claim 1 , wherein the at least one water-immiscible organic solvent is a plant-derived oil selected from the group consisting of corn oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, palm oil, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil, or mixtures thereof.
13. The process of claim 1 , wherein the at least one water-immiscible organic solvent comprises toluene, trifluorotoluene, corn oil, or mixtures thereof.
14. The process of claim 1 , wherein the step of recovering furfural is by distillation.