Antibiotic residues derived carbonaceous materials for transfer hydrogenation of bio-based furfural: experiments, kinetics and techno-economic analysis

Although the resource utilization of antibiotic residues attracts great interest, the potential application in transfer hydrogenation of platform molecules has barely been reported. Here, we firstly reported the fabrication of antibiotic residues derived carbonaceous materials (AR-T) for catalytic transfer hydrogenation of bio-based furfural into furfuryl alcohol. The in-situ generated acid-base sites in porous AR-T significantly contributed to the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction of furfural, which finally gave high furfuryl alcohol yield of 91.0 mol% and low activation energy of 41.4 kJ/mol using isopropanol as both the hydrogen source and solvent. The isopropanol with low reduction potential presented excellent hydrogen donating capacity for furfural hydrogenation. A plausible reaction mechanism for furfural-to-furfuryl alcohol transformation via the cooperative effect of acid-base sites in isopropanol over as-prepared AR-T was also proposed. The techno-economic assessment clearly substantiated the feasibility and economy of AR-T for transfer hydrogenation of furfural, where the total revenue for producing 1 kg furfuryl alcohol achieved $19.8 kg−1 and outperformed the state-of-the-art transition metal catalysts mediated furfural hydrogenation. The present study not only provides an approach for the green and highly efficient utilization of antibiotic residues but also opens novel cost-effective avenues for realizing the catalytic upgrading of bio-based platform oxygenates into value-added chemicals.