TY - JOUR
T1 - Nonsevere furfural production using ultrasonicated oil palm fronds and aqueous choline chloride-oxalic acid
AU - Lee, Cornelius Basil Tien Loong
AU - Wu, Ta Yeong
AU - Cheng, Chin Kui
AU - Siow, Lee Fong
AU - Chew, Irene Mei Leng
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by funding from the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia , under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2019/WAB01/MUSM/02/1). The authors would also like to acknowledge Monash University Malaysia for providing a PhD scholarship to C.B.T.L. Lee.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by funding from the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2019/WAB01/MUSM/02/1). The authors would also like to acknowledge Monash University Malaysia for providing a PhD scholarship to C.B.T.L. Lee.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/8
Y1 - 2021/8
N2 - Furfural is a versatile platform chemical that can be employed to produce green fuel and chemical intermediates. In this study, oil palm fronds were first subjected to ultrasonic pretreatment using an ultrasonic probe in water, which was followed by reaction in an aqueous choline chloride-oxalic acid (16.4 wt% H2O) deep eutectic solvent. The focus of this study was to investigate whether the duration and amplitude of ultrasonic pretreatment improve the furfural yield from oil palm fronds. Mechanoacoustic and sonochemical effects induced by ultrasound waves disrupted the lignin carbohydrate complex in biomass, which increased the hemicellulose availability in the oil palm fronds for furfural production in the subsequent aqueous choline chloride-oxalic acid reaction. By employing ultrasonic pretreatment at 80 % amplitude for 3 min and then an aqueous choline chloride-oxalic acid reaction at 120 °C for 60 min, a furfural yield of 56.5 % was obtained. Characterization studies (e.g., Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller, X-ray diffraction, and field emission scanning electron microscopy) on the oil palm fronds yielded insights into the reaction. Additionally, the reacted oil palm frond residues had a high glucan content, which could be considered a valuable byproduct.
AB - Furfural is a versatile platform chemical that can be employed to produce green fuel and chemical intermediates. In this study, oil palm fronds were first subjected to ultrasonic pretreatment using an ultrasonic probe in water, which was followed by reaction in an aqueous choline chloride-oxalic acid (16.4 wt% H2O) deep eutectic solvent. The focus of this study was to investigate whether the duration and amplitude of ultrasonic pretreatment improve the furfural yield from oil palm fronds. Mechanoacoustic and sonochemical effects induced by ultrasound waves disrupted the lignin carbohydrate complex in biomass, which increased the hemicellulose availability in the oil palm fronds for furfural production in the subsequent aqueous choline chloride-oxalic acid reaction. By employing ultrasonic pretreatment at 80 % amplitude for 3 min and then an aqueous choline chloride-oxalic acid reaction at 120 °C for 60 min, a furfural yield of 56.5 % was obtained. Characterization studies (e.g., Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller, X-ray diffraction, and field emission scanning electron microscopy) on the oil palm fronds yielded insights into the reaction. Additionally, the reacted oil palm frond residues had a high glucan content, which could be considered a valuable byproduct.
KW - Biomass valorization
KW - Biorefinery
KW - Deep eutectic solvent
KW - Green solvent
KW - Lignocellulosic biomass
KW - Waste management
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103126547&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113397
DO - 10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113397
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85103126547
SN - 0926-6690
VL - 166
JO - Industrial Crops and Products
JF - Industrial Crops and Products
M1 - 113397
ER -