Continuous flow synthesis of furfural from biomass-derived waste using a ZnCl2/NaCl catalytic system

IF 6 Q1 ENGINEERING, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Results in Engineering Pub Date : 2025-06-10 DOI:10.1016/j.rineng.2025.105680

Harry Kwaku Megbenu , Kyran Kassym , Gulnaz Ingkar , Alina M. Balu , Minavar Shaimardan , Rafael Luque , Nurxat Nuraje

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Abstract

Valorizing lignocellulosic biomass into platform chemicals presents a promising route for sustainable chemical production. In this study, we demonstrate the use of a continuous-flow microreactor for synthesizing furfural from biomass-derived waste feedstocks—specifically, pretreated corncob and rice husk—through formic acid-assisted hemicellulose extraction, benchmarked against commercial xylose. The extracted hemicellulose, enriched in xylose (10.22 % for rice husk and 24.12 % for corncob), was dehydrated in a continuous-flow reactor using NaCl as a promoter and ZnCl₂ as a Lewis acid in an isopropyl alcohol (IPA):H₂O solvent system. Through comprehensive optimization of reaction parameters—temperature, flow rate, catalyst loading, and solvent ratio—a maximum furfural yield of 74.58 % was achieved at 170 °C with a residence time of just 10 min. This continuous-flow approach enables precise control of reaction conditions (validated by SEM and UHPLC), enhances heat and mass transfer, and delivers faster results compared to conventional batch systems.

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ZnCl2/NaCl催化体系催化生物质废弃物连续流合成糠醛

将木质纤维素生物质转化为平台化学品为可持续的化学品生产提供了一条有前途的途径。在这项研究中，我们展示了使用连续流微反应器从生物质废料原料中合成糠醛，特别是预处理玉米芯和稻壳，通过甲酸辅助半纤维素提取，以商业木糖为基准。以异丙醇（IPA）：H₂O为溶剂体系，NaCl为促进剂，ZnCl 2为Lewis酸，在连续流反应器中脱水得到木糖含量最高的半纤维素（稻壳木糖含量为10.22%，玉米芯木糖含量为24.12%）。通过对反应参数（温度、流速、催化剂负载和溶剂比）的全面优化，在170°C下，停留时间仅为10分钟，最大糠醛收率为74.58%。这种连续流动方法可以精确控制反应条件（通过SEM和UHPLC验证），增强传热和传质，并提供比传统批次系统更快的结果。

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