General description

Furfural is a heterocyclic aldehyde. It can be produced from agricultural raw materials containing pentosans and lignocellulosic feedstock. It is also obtained from xylose, via dehydration. Furan has various interesting properties, such as it thermosets easily, has physical strength and exhibits resistance to corrosion. It is a raw material for the production of various furan-based chemicals and solvents such as:

methylfuran
furfuryl alcohol
tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol
tetrahydrofuran
methyltetrahydrofuran
dihydropyran
furoic acid

Application

Furfural has been employed as a standard for the HPLC quantification of furfural in the autohydrolysate liquor obtained from microwave-irradiated maize bran. It may be used in the preparation of γ-valerolactone (GVL) and biofuel 2-methylfuran (51% yield).

Furfural undergoes hydrogenation in the vapor-phase over copper-containing catalysts to form furfuryl alcohol as the predominant product. It may also be used to prepare gel precursors for phenol-furfural aerogels.