Highly selective catalytic conversion of furfural to gamma-butyrolactone

A two-step process was developed for the production of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) from furfural. Furfural was first oxidized using homogeneous acid catalysts under mild conditions in an aqueous/organic bi-phasic system to obtain 2(5H)-furanone, which was then selectively hydrogenated to GBL with a high yield over supported metal catalysts.