Preparation of furfural from water extraction of steam-exploded corn stalk

Furfural was produced from water extraction of steam-exploded corn stalk with hydrochloric acid used as a catalyst to resolve the problem in furfural industry such as the scarcity of feedstock(corncob),high acid consumption and the generation of solid waste.Three factors such as temperature,concentration of HCl and reaction time were studied.The reasons of carbonization during the course of reaction were investegated.The best reaction condition for furfural production was 180 ℃,2% HCl and 2 hours reaction.FTIR indicated that liquefied lignin and polysaccharide contained in the water extraction of steam-exploded corn stalk was the reasons of carbonization.The advantages of the above-mentioned method of furfural production were the low price and extensive sources of feedstock(corn stalk) and high furfural yield(76.6%).