The Effect of Solvent Polarity on Autocatalytic Furfural Production Confirmed by Multivariate Statistical Analysis

摘要

Autocatalytic dehydration of xylose to furfural was studied in pure aqueous and monophasic organic/water mixtures to determine the effect reaction media and conditions have on conversion and yield. This study identified that the severity (R-o) of the reaction and polarity, as determined by the Hansen Solubility Parameter, delta(P), strongly correlate with xylose conversion and furfural yield. Increasing the R-o and delta(P) increased both conversion and yield in pure aqueous and organic/water mixtures of sulfolane, gamma-butyrolactone, gamma-valerolactone, gamma-hexalactone, and tetrahydrofuran. Additionally, it was found that at a specified R-o and delta(P), similar conversions and yields were achieved using different combinations of time, temperature, and solvent mixture. Using principal component analysis and projection to latent structures, a semi-empirical model was developed that provided estimates of xylose conversion and furfural yield over a range of experimental R-o and delta(P) values.