title: Furfural production using ionic liquids: A review.
abstract: Furfural, a platform chemical with a bright future, is commercially obtained by acidic processing of xylan-containing biomass in aqueous media. Ionic liquids (ILs) can be employed in processed for furfural manufacture as additives, as catalysts and/or as reaction media. Depending on the IL utilized, externally added catalysts (usually, Lewis acids, Brönsted acids and/or solid acid catalysts) can be necessary to achieve high reaction yields. Oppositely, acidic ionic liquids (AILs) can perform as both solvents and catalysts, enabling the direct conversion of suitable substrates (pentoses, pentosans or xylan-containing biomass) into furfural. Operating in IL-containing media, the furfural yields can be improved when the product is continuously removed along the reaction (for example, by stripping or extraction), to avoid unwanted side-reactions leading to furfural consumption. These topics are reviewed, as well as the major challenges involved in the large scale utilization of ILs for furfural production.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Vigo (Campus Ourense), Faculty of Science, Polytechnical Building, As Lagoas, 32004 Ourense, Spain; CITI (Centro de Investigación, Transferencia e Innovación), Universtity of Vigo, Tecnopole, San Cibrao das Viñas, 32900 Ourense, Spain.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peleteiro
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Vigo (Campus Ourense), Faculty of Science, Polytechnical Building, As Lagoas, 32004 Ourense, Spain; CITI (Centro de Investigación, Transferencia e Innovación), Universtity of Vigo, Tecnopole, San Cibrao das Viñas, 32900 Ourense, Spain.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rivas
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Vigo (Campus Ourense), Faculty of Science, Polytechnical Building, As Lagoas, 32004 Ourense, Spain; CITI (Centro de Investigación, Transferencia e Innovación), Universtity of Vigo, Tecnopole, San Cibrao das Viñas, 32900 Ourense, Spain.
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Vigo (Campus Ourense), Faculty of Science, Polytechnical Building, As Lagoas, 32004 Ourense, Spain; CITI (Centro de Investigación, Transferencia e Innovación), Universtity of Vigo, Tecnopole, San Cibrao das Viñas, 32900 Ourense, Spain.
authors.forename: Valentín
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Vigo (Campus Ourense), Faculty of Science, Polytechnical Building, As Lagoas, 32004 Ourense, Spain; CITI (Centro de Investigación, Transferencia e Innovación), Universtity of Vigo, Tecnopole, San Cibrao das Viñas, 32900 Ourense, Spain. Electronic address: jcparajo@uvigo.es.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Parajó
mesh_terms: D000143:Acids; D018533:Biomass; D002384:Catalysis / Q000187:drug effects; D005662:Furaldehyde / Q000378:metabolism*; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012997:Solvents / Q000494:pharmacology; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000143:Acids; D052578:Ionic Liquids; D012997:Solvents; D014867:Water; D005662:Furaldehyde
keywords: Biorefinery; Furfural; Hemicelluloses; Ionic liquids; Lignocellulosic materials