Efficiently Catalyzing Xylose to Furfural by Synthesizing Solid Acid Catalysts from Lignocellulosic Residues

Graphical The solid acid catalysts were triumphantly prepared using the residues of poplar sawdust's enzymatic hydrolysis, which displayed the most acidic sites and high catalytic activity, and achieved the highest furfural yield and furfural selectivity during xylose conversion. The utilization of biomass as a carbon source for the synthesis of renewable solid acid catalysts (SA) has emerged as a prominent research direction in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. Based on the challenges associated with reusing residues from lignocellulosic biorefining, the biomass-based SA (BCSA) were prepared using poplar sawdust (PS), hydrothermally pretreated PS (PPS), and the residue of PPS's enzymatic hydrolysis (ER). The characterization revealed that all three types of BCSA were loaded with catalytic groups, and the BCSA synthesized using ER rich in lignin components exhibited a highly efficient catalytic structure. Furthermore, the catalysis of a 20 g/L xylose solution with BCSA-ER as SA also achieved the highest furfural yield (89.3%) and furfural selectivity (90.3%). The findings of this study suggested that lignin holds significant potential as a carbon carrier for SA, thereby offering a viable solution for utilizing by-products from lignocellulosic biorefining.