Biomass valorization derivatives: Cleanesterification of 2-furoic acid usingtungstophosphoric acid/zirconia composites asrecyclable catalyst

ANGELICA ESCOBAR; GABRIEL SATHICG; MIRTA BLANCO,; LUIS PIZZIO; GUSTAVO ROMANELLI

PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS

Año: 2015 vol. 98 p. 176 - 186

0957-5820

2-Furoic acid esters, which are biomass derived, are used in the flavoring and fragranceindustry or as synthesis intermediates in the pharmaceutical industry. A series of zirconiasamples modified with different contents of tungstophosphoric acid (TPA) andtwo different preparation methods (ZrPEGTPA30T100, ZrPEGTPA60T100, ZrTPA30PEGT100, andZrTPA60PEGT100) were synthesized from zirconium propoxide via sol gel reactions using polyethylene glycol as template. They were characterized by different physicochemical techniques (BET, FT-IR, 31P MAS NMR and potentiometric titration), and their activitieswere tested in the synthesis of n-butyl-2-furoate as the model compound, among whichZrTPA30PEGT100, (mesoporous acid zirconia modified catalyst) was the most active catalyst.The effect of various parameters such as catalyst loading, mole ratio of 2-furoic acid ton-butanol, and temperature was studied under optimized conditions. Several other alkyl2-furoates were produced from esterification of 2-furoic acid with different alcohols usingthese catalysts, and the effect of alcohol structure over the conversion reaction was considered.The use of a solid acid catalyst made the procedure environmentally benign. Thecatalysts ZrPEGTPA30T100 and ZrTPA30PEGT100 were reused without appreciable loss of thecatalytic activity (three runs). The methodology represents a green and efficient alternativefor the conversion of bio-based 2-furoic acid into valuable esters