Furfural: A Promising Platform Compound for Sustainable Production of C 4 and C 5 Chemicals

Furfural is a promising renewable platform compound derived from lignocellulosic biomass that can be further converted to biofuels and biochemicals. The highly functionalized molecular structure of furfural makes it a desired raw material for the sustainable production of value-added chemicals containing oxygen atoms. The conversion of furfural to C4 and C5 chemicals by various catalytic processes is reviewed. The C5 chemicals are mainly produced through sequential steps of selective hydrogenation and/or hydrogenolysis, while most of the C4 chemicals are synthesized with selective oxidation as the first step. This review divides the chemical products from furfural into several groups according to their carbon…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 21476122, 21676155
• PF
  Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University

  Award: NCET-12-0297