Conversion of Xylose to Furfural Catalyzed by Carbon-Based Solid Acid Prepared from Pectin

Furfural is an important platform chemical that can be produced by dehydration of pentose, which is an important building block of lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, xylose was chosen as the reaction substrate, and a carbon-based solid acid prepared from pectin was used as the catalyst in a mixed solvent consisting of water and γ-valerolactone (GVL). FTIR results showed that the sulfonated catalyst had typical characteristic peaks of sulfonic groups, while the results based on NH3-TPD and elemental analysis showed that the sulfonation temperature changed the surface acid concentration and acid site intensity of the catalyst. A furfural yield of 80.4% and a xylose conversion of 100% were obtained at 170 °C for 60 min. The conversions and product yields were influenced by the reaction temperature, reaction time, solvent composition, and catalyst acidity. Different sulfonation temperatures can change the acidity of the catalyst, which determines the catalytic performance of the catalyst.