Recent progress in furfural production from hemicellulose and its derivatives: Conversion mechanism, catalytic system, solvent selection

Hemicellulose is one of the main components of lignocellulose, and xylan and xylose are polysaccharides and monosaccharides that account for a high proportion of hemicellulose separation and depolymerization products. As a derivative of the above three substances, Furfural (FF) is a green platform compound prepared from renewable biomass raw materials and has broad application prospects. Based on the furfural production process, we review the conversion mechanism of hemicellulose, xylan and xylose and the role of Bronsted acid and Lewis acid in the reaction system. Meanwhile, the problems to be solved in each production stage are summarized. According to the physical form, homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts are distinguished in the reaction of preparing furfural with different substrates. For the solvent system, the role and classification of the reaction phase and the extraction phase are reasonably generalized. The development challenges and directions are discussed in depth, and the potential new technologies and new systems that may be used in the furfural industrial production process are proposed.