Tuesday, May 1, 2012: 9:00 AM
Rhythms Ballroom, 2nd fl (Sheraton New Orleans)
Furfural from pentose sugars is a potential building block for making jet fuel from cellulosic biomass (Huber, Chheda, et al. 2005). Furfural is traditionally produced under aqueous conditions with an acid catalyst, but significant yield improvements can be achieved using soluble additives like tetrahydrofuran (THF) or immiscible solvents like methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK). The compatibility of these solvent systems with raw starting cellulosic materials and their feasibility for an industrial process will decide the ideal candidate for additional research on the production of intermediate reactants for “drop-in” fuels from cellulosic biomass. Deviation from a traditional aqueous process requires consideration of reactor conditions and downstream separation logistics. For the purpose of integrating sugar hydrolysis and dehydration steps in furfural production, this study compares advantages and disadvantages of both solvent systems and examines integration with a cellulosic substrate. MIBK demonstrated significant yield advantages over the traditional process when the starting material was raw biomass, but may pose challenges for downstream recovery. THF greatly improved furfural solubility in aqueous solution, but high yields have only been shown with pure xylose.
Key words: furfural, organic solvent extraction, cellulosic biomass, hydrolysis, dehydration, tetrahydrofuran, methyl isobutyl ketone
Huber, G., J. Chheda, et al. (2005). "Production of Liquid Alkanes by Aqueous-Phase Processing of Biomass-Derived Carbohydrates." Science 308:1446-1450.