Closed-loop production of furfural from biomass
First Claim
1. A closed-loop process for converting biomass into furfural, the process comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a pentosan-containing biomass material;
(b) subjecting the pentosan-containing biomass material to an acid catalyzed digestion process in a digestion vessel at a temperature greater than about 100 °
C. for a period of time sufficient to produce a digested product stream comprising C5-carbohydrates and solids comprising cellulose;
(c) separating the digested product stream into a liquid product stream and a solid product stream, the liquid product stream comprising carbohydrate compounds, of which carbohydrate compounds at least 50 wt % are C5- carbohydrate compounds, based on the weight of carbohydrate compounds in the liquid product stream, and the solid product stream comprising solids comprising cellulose;
(d) subjecting the C5-carbohydrate in the liquid product stream to a dehydration reaction in a reaction vessel at a temperature in the range of from about 100 °
C. to about 250 °
C. in the presence of an acid catalyst and a biphasic mixture comprising an aqueous phase and a water-immiscible organic phase, which comprises an organic solvent, for a period of time sufficient to produce furfural or a furan derivative comprising tetrahydrofuran (THF), furan, and 2-methyl THF;
(e) retrieving from the reaction vessel a dehydration product stream comprising water, organic solvent and comprising furfural and separating the dehydration product stream into an aqueous recycle stream and an organic product stream comprising furfural;
(f) recycling the aqueous recycle stream back into the digestion vessel in step (b); and
(g) extracting the furfural from the organic product stream by at least one separation process.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and processes for the production of valuable organic products and alcohols from biomass material using a closed-loop process having numerous advantages over prior production methods are described. In the process, the biomass is subjected to acid-catalyzed digestion, followed by a separation of the digestion product stream into a solid product stream and a liquid product stream, the liquid product stream thereafter undergoing acid-catalyzed dehydration in the presence of an organic solvent, and thereafter separating the organic products in the organic layer from the aqueous layer. During the process, aqueous and organic fluid streams are fed back into various portions of the production process to increase the concentration of active portions and maximize product recovery.
15 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A closed-loop process for converting biomass into furfural, the process comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a pentosan-containing biomass material; (b) subjecting the pentosan-containing biomass material to an acid catalyzed digestion process in a digestion vessel at a temperature greater than about 100 °
C. for a period of time sufficient to produce a digested product stream comprising C5-carbohydrates and solids comprising cellulose;(c) separating the digested product stream into a liquid product stream and a solid product stream, the liquid product stream comprising carbohydrate compounds, of which carbohydrate compounds at least 50 wt % are C5- carbohydrate compounds, based on the weight of carbohydrate compounds in the liquid product stream, and the solid product stream comprising solids comprising cellulose; (d) subjecting the C5-carbohydrate in the liquid product stream to a dehydration reaction in a reaction vessel at a temperature in the range of from about 100 °
C. to about 250 °
C. in the presence of an acid catalyst and a biphasic mixture comprising an aqueous phase and a water-immiscible organic phase, which comprises an organic solvent, for a period of time sufficient to produce furfural or a furan derivative comprising tetrahydrofuran (THF), furan, and 2-methyl THF;(e) retrieving from the reaction vessel a dehydration product stream comprising water, organic solvent and comprising furfural and separating the dehydration product stream into an aqueous recycle stream and an organic product stream comprising furfural; (f) recycling the aqueous recycle stream back into the digestion vessel in step (b); and (g) extracting the furfural from the organic product stream by at least one separation process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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3. The process of 1, wherein the mixture comprising pentosan containing biomass material and water has a solid-to-liquid weight ratio ranging from about 1:
- 3 to about 1;
30. - View Dependent Claims (4)
- 3 to about 1;
Specification