Catalytic Performances of Various Solid Catalysts and Metal Halides for Microwave-Assisted Hydrothermal Conversion of Xylose, Xylan, and Straw to Furfural

Purpose Furfural is a multifunctional green chemical and a precursor for many furan-based chemicals. The drawbacks of the current furfural production on industrial scale are the processes with low yields, and the corrosive and non-environmental catalysts are being used in the processes. Here, the one pot catalytic conversion of xylose, xylan, and straw biomass (i.e., wheat straw, triticale straw and flax shives) to furfural was investigated in the only single-phase aqueous system using various solid catalysts and metal halides under microwave irradiation.