Application of sulfonated carbon-based catalyst for the furfural production from d -xylose and xylan in a microwave-assisted biphasic reaction

Sulfonated carbon-based catalyst has been prepared, characterized by elemental analysis, SEM, EDX and FTIR and tested as a heterogeneous catalyst in the dehydration of d-xylose and xylan to produce furfural as target compound. With the use of the catalyst the appropriate reaction temperature and time in a mixture of water-CPME (1:3, v/v) were 190 °C and 60 min, in both cases. In these conditions, dehydration starting from d-xylose and xylan gave 60 and 42% of furfural yields, respectively. The influence of temperature, the residence time and the substrate to catalyst ratios on the d-xylose conversion and furfural selectivity were investigated.