Functionalized Coal Fly Ash Is an Efficient Catalyst for Synthesizing Furfural from Xylose at a Low Catalyst Load
Mengling Li,
Ye Wang,
Lin Liu,
Yanan Gao,
Zhanyun Gao,
Liping Zhang
Affiliations
Mengling Li
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, MOE Engineering Research Center of Forestry Biomass Materials and Bioenergy, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Ye Wang
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, MOE Engineering Research Center of Forestry Biomass Materials and Bioenergy, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Lin Liu
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, MOE Engineering Research Center of Forestry Biomass Materials and Bioenergy, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Yanan Gao
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, MOE Engineering Research Center of Forestry Biomass Materials and Bioenergy, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Zhanyun Gao
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, MOE Engineering Research Center of Forestry Biomass Materials and Bioenergy, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Liping Zhang
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, MOE Engineering Research Center of Forestry Biomass Materials and Bioenergy, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
In this study, coal fly ash was functionalized, using a simple one-step process (loading with Al3+ and sulfonation), to yield a solid acid catalyst (S/Al-CFA) with strong acid sites. The catalyst was then used to produce furfural from xylose in a biphasic system (H2O(NaCl)/tetrahydrofuran). The furfural yield reached 82% at 180 °C–60 min with catalyst/xylose ratio of 0.2:1.0 (w/w). With the reaction completed, all of the components could be effectively separated, and the furfural was 97.6% pure. The cycle and regeneration of the catalyst were evaluated, and the catalyst deactivation mechanism was investigated.