A ternary deep eutectic solvent (DES) biphasic system for effective furfural production from hemicelluloses: An experimental and theoretical study.

Furfural is a vital biomass-derived platform chemical, which has significant applications in the production of bio-based chemicals. In this study, a ternary DES coupled with MIBK was employed to produce furfural under mild conditions. The effects of DES composition and treatment conditions were thoroughly investigated, and a maximum yield of 68.36% was obtained (100 °C, 60 min). Additionally, the weak intermolecular interactions between xylose and the DES were studied, including van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, the reaction pathways were elucidated, and the results suggested that the optimum might be the isomerization of xylose to xylulose catalyzed by Al3+ ions, followed by successive dehydration under acidic conditions. Moreover, recycling experiments and LCA of furfural production were carried out, demonstrating the feasibility of this green and high value-added approach for hemicelluloses conversion. The results provided a better understanding of the mechanism of furfural production, and could improve the utilizations of DES in the industrial biorefinery processes.