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.