Microwave-assisted dehydration of D-xylose into furfural by diluted inexpensive inorganic salts solution in a biphasic system

Production of furfural from biomass using less corrosive acids and minimizing the formation of undesired by-products is great challenge. Dehydration of D-xylose to furfural was carried out under microwave irradiation in biphasic system consisting of CPME and aqueous inorganic salts solution. Best conditions of dehydration of D-xylose using FeCI3 were investigated by varying temperature, reaction time, pentose loading and influence of NaCl. Highest furfural yield of 74% was achieved at 170 degrees C for 20 min in presence of 10 mol% of iron chloride and 100 mol% of sodium chloride in water-CPME, 1:3, v/v. Addition of NaCl was found to increase the catalytic activity of FeCl3 and allowed to reduce the amounts of FeCl3 used from 20 mol% to 10 mol%. This approach was tested with success starting from L-arabinose and xylan, a pentose-rich polysaccharide. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.