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Furfural
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Furfural
Furfural is an organic compound with the formula C4H3OCHO. It is a colorless liquid, although commercial samples are often brown. It has an aldehyde group attached to the 2-position of furan. It is a product of the dehydration of sugars, as occurs in a variety of agricultural byproducts, including corncobs, oat, wheat bran, and sawdust. The name furfural comes from the Latin word furfur, meaning bran, referring to its usual source. Furfural is derived only from dried biomass. In addition to ethanol, acetic acid, and sugar, furfural is one of the oldest known organic chemicals available readily purified from natural precursors.
Furfural was first isolated in 1821 (published in 1832) by the German chemist Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, who produced a small sample as a byproduct of formic acid synthesis. In 1840, the Scottish chemist John Stenhouse found that the same chemical could be produced by distilling a wide variety of crop materials, including corn, oats, bran, and sawdust, with aqueous sulfuric acid; he also determined furfural's empirical formula (C5H4O2). George Fownes named this oil "furfurol" in 1845 (from furfur (bran), and oleum (oil)). In 1848, the French chemist Auguste Cahours determined that furfural was an aldehyde. Determining the structure of furfural required some time: the furfural molecule contains a cyclic ether (furan), which tends to break open when it's treated with harsh reagents. In 1870, German chemist Adolf von Baeyer speculated about the structure of the chemically similar compounds furan and 2-furoic acid. Additional research by German chemist Heinrich Limpricht supported this idea. From work published in 1877, Baeyer had confirmed his previous belief on the structure of furfural. By 1886, furfurol was being called "furfural" (short for "furfuraldehyde") and the correct chemical structure for furfural was being proposed. By 1887, the German chemist Willy Marckwald had inferred that some derivatives of furfural contained a furan nucleus. In 1901, the German chemist Carl Harries determined furan's structure through work with succindialdehyde and 2-methylfuran, thereby also confirming furfural's proposed structure.
Furfural remained relatively obscure until 1922, when the Quaker Oats Company began mass-producing it from oat hulls. Today, furfural is still produced from agricultural byproducts like sugarcane bagasse and corn cobs. The main countries producing furfural today are the Dominican Republic, South Africa and China.
Furfural dissolves readily in most polar organic solvents, but it is only slightly soluble in either water or alkanes.
Furfural participates in the same kinds of reactions as other aldehydes and other aromatic compounds. It exhibits less aromatic character than benzene, as can be seen from the fact that furfural is readily hydrogenated to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. When heated in the presence of acids, furfural irreversibly polymerizes, acting as a thermosetting polymer.
Furfural may be obtained by the acid catalyzed dehydration of 5-carbon sugars (pentoses), particularly xylose.
These sugars may be obtained from pentosans obtained from hemicellulose present in lignocellulosic biomass.
Between 3% and 10% of the mass of crop residue feedstocks can be recovered as furfural, depending on the type of feedstock. Furfural and water evaporate together from the reaction mixture, and separate upon condensation. The global production capacity is about 800,000 tons as of 2012. China is the biggest supplier of furfural, and accounts for the greater part of global capacity. The other two major commercial producers are Illovo Sugar in South Africa and Central Romana in the Dominican Republic.
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Furfural
Furfural is an organic compound with the formula C4H3OCHO. It is a colorless liquid, although commercial samples are often brown. It has an aldehyde group attached to the 2-position of furan. It is a product of the dehydration of sugars, as occurs in a variety of agricultural byproducts, including corncobs, oat, wheat bran, and sawdust. The name furfural comes from the Latin word furfur, meaning bran, referring to its usual source. Furfural is derived only from dried biomass. In addition to ethanol, acetic acid, and sugar, furfural is one of the oldest known organic chemicals available readily purified from natural precursors.
Furfural was first isolated in 1821 (published in 1832) by the German chemist Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, who produced a small sample as a byproduct of formic acid synthesis. In 1840, the Scottish chemist John Stenhouse found that the same chemical could be produced by distilling a wide variety of crop materials, including corn, oats, bran, and sawdust, with aqueous sulfuric acid; he also determined furfural's empirical formula (C5H4O2). George Fownes named this oil "furfurol" in 1845 (from furfur (bran), and oleum (oil)). In 1848, the French chemist Auguste Cahours determined that furfural was an aldehyde. Determining the structure of furfural required some time: the furfural molecule contains a cyclic ether (furan), which tends to break open when it's treated with harsh reagents. In 1870, German chemist Adolf von Baeyer speculated about the structure of the chemically similar compounds furan and 2-furoic acid. Additional research by German chemist Heinrich Limpricht supported this idea. From work published in 1877, Baeyer had confirmed his previous belief on the structure of furfural. By 1886, furfurol was being called "furfural" (short for "furfuraldehyde") and the correct chemical structure for furfural was being proposed. By 1887, the German chemist Willy Marckwald had inferred that some derivatives of furfural contained a furan nucleus. In 1901, the German chemist Carl Harries determined furan's structure through work with succindialdehyde and 2-methylfuran, thereby also confirming furfural's proposed structure.
Furfural remained relatively obscure until 1922, when the Quaker Oats Company began mass-producing it from oat hulls. Today, furfural is still produced from agricultural byproducts like sugarcane bagasse and corn cobs. The main countries producing furfural today are the Dominican Republic, South Africa and China.
Furfural dissolves readily in most polar organic solvents, but it is only slightly soluble in either water or alkanes.
Furfural participates in the same kinds of reactions as other aldehydes and other aromatic compounds. It exhibits less aromatic character than benzene, as can be seen from the fact that furfural is readily hydrogenated to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. When heated in the presence of acids, furfural irreversibly polymerizes, acting as a thermosetting polymer.
Furfural may be obtained by the acid catalyzed dehydration of 5-carbon sugars (pentoses), particularly xylose.
These sugars may be obtained from pentosans obtained from hemicellulose present in lignocellulosic biomass.
Between 3% and 10% of the mass of crop residue feedstocks can be recovered as furfural, depending on the type of feedstock. Furfural and water evaporate together from the reaction mixture, and separate upon condensation. The global production capacity is about 800,000 tons as of 2012. China is the biggest supplier of furfural, and accounts for the greater part of global capacity. The other two major commercial producers are Illovo Sugar in South Africa and Central Romana in the Dominican Republic.