Efficient and selective conversion of xylose to furfural over carbon-based solid acid catalyst in water-γ-valerolactone

Hydrothermal liquefication of biomass to produce high-quality chemicals and liquid fuels is considered as a renewable and sustainable technology. Herein, a one-step hydrothermal method was used to prepare microcrystalline cellulose supported carbon-based catalyst PTA-BC with the activation factor of phosphotungstic acid. It was demonstrated by Py-FTIR, NH3-TPD and XPS that PTA-BC is not only rich in functional groups but also contains Brønsted acid sites (hydroxyl groups) and Lewis acid sites (CC, carboxyl groups). After experimental optimization, the optimum yield of furfural obtained from xylose catalyzed by PTA-BC was 81.02% at the reaction temperature of 180 °C and the reaction time of 20 min. The results show that PTA-BC contains –COOH, –OH and CC as catalytic sites and that the synergistic effect of these functional groups. The nature of the reaction solvent, appropriate reaction temperature and residence time are the main reasons for the good catalytic performance. This work provides a promising way for the synthesis of solid acid catalyst, which has a wide application prospect for the production of furfural.