Manufacture of Furfural from Xylan-containing Biomass by Acidic Processing of Hemicellulose-Derived Saccharides in Biphasic Media Using Microwave Heating

Furfural was produced in biphasic media using a microwave-heated reactor. Diverse substrates were considered: xylose (considered as a reference compound) or hemicellulosic saccharides from Eucalyptus globulus wood or corncobs. Operation was carried out at 170°C for the desired reaction time in the presence of an acidic catalyst (sulfuric acid or HCl). The best furfural yields (67.8% and 72.5% from E. globulus wood and corncobs, respectively) were obtained operating for 10 min or 20 min with 1% or 0.5% HCl, respectively. These results were slightly lower than the ones obtained using xylose (a model substrate) under comparable reaction conditions, a fact ascribed to differences in the complexity of substrates and to the presence of contaminants.