Production of furfural from waste aqueous hemicellulose solution of hardwood over ZSM-5 zeolite

• Furfural was produced from waste aqueous hemicellulose solution of dissolving pulp.
• The maximum furfural yield of 82.4% was achieved using solid acid catalysts.
• Solid acid catalyst recycling study was carried out.
• Hemicellulose solution and xylose converted into furfural were compared.

This study aimed to produce furfural from waste aqueous hemicellulose solution of a hardwood kraft-based dissolving pulp production processing in a green method. The maximum furfural yield of 82.4% and the xylose conversion of 96.8% were achieved at 463 K, 1.0 g ZSM-5, 1.05 g NaCl and organic solvent-to-aqueous phase ratio of 30:15 (V/V) for 3 h. The furfural yield was just 51.5% when the same concentration of pure xylose solution was used. Under the optimized condition, furfural yield was still up to 67.1% even after the fifth reused of catalyst. Catalyst recycling study showed that ZSM-5 has a certain stability and can be efficiently reused.