High-Throughput Screening of Heterogeneous Catalysts for the Conversion of Furfural to Bio-Based Fuel Components

The one-pot catalytic reductive etherification of furfural to 2-methoxymethylfuran (furfuryl methyl ether, FME), a valuable bio-based chemical or fuel, is reported. A large number of commercially available hydrogenation heterogeneous catalysts based on nickel, copper, cobalt, iridium, palladium and platinum catalysts on various support were evaluated by a high-throughput screening approach. The reaction was carried out in liquid phase with a 10% w/w furfural in methanol solution at 50 bar of hydrogen. Among all the samples tested, carbon-supported noble metal catalysts were found to be the most promising in terms of productivity and selectivity. In particular, palladium on charcoal catalysts show high selectivity (up to 77%) to FME. Significant amounts of furfuryl alcohol (FA) and 2-methylfuran (2-MF) are observed as the major by-products.