Using benzene carboxylic acids to prepare zirconium-based catalysts for the conversion of biomass-derived furfural

Abstract

Abstract Benzene carboxylic acid (BCAs) are common and useful chemical blocks, which can be derived from the abundant low rank coals (LRCs) via oxidative degradation. In this work, we proposed a novel strategy to utilize BCAs as raw materials to prepare catalysts with transition metal zirconium, and the prepared catalysts were applied into the conversion of the renewable biomass resources. Typical model BCAs in the oxidative products of LRCs, including pyromellitic acid, trimesic acid (TMSA), trimellitic acid, and benzoic acid, were used as the block to construct the Zr-BCAs catalysts. The chemoselective conversion of furfural into furfuryl alcohol (FAL), an important reaction in the biomass conversion chain, is chosen to evaluate the activity of the catalysts. The preparation conditions of the catalysts and experiment factors during the reaction were systematically investigated. The prepared catalysts were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and TG-DTG. The results showed that the prepared catalysts were efficient for the conversion of furfural into FAL, among which Zr-TMSA gave the highest activity. Zr-TMSA could be recycled for ten times without obvious deactivation, indicating an excellent stability. The strategy proposed in this work may be beneficial for the value-added utilization of both LRCs and biomass resources. Graphical Abstract Zr-BCAs catalysts prepared using benzene carboxylic acids and Zr are very efficient and stable for hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural to furfuryl alcohol at mild conditions.

Keywords

• Benzene carboxylic acids
• Low rank coals
• Zirconium catalyst
• Biomass
• Furfural