Adding value to Sunflower seed hulls. Catalytic conversion of furfural for producing bio-based furfuryl alcohol.

CASONI ANDRÉS IVAN; VOLPE MARÍA ALICIA; GUTIERREZ VICTORIA SOLEDAD; HOCH PATRICIA

Lyon

Congreso; 4th International Congress on Catalysis for Biorefineries; 2017

Sunflower seed hulls are abundant lignocellulosic residues of the edible oil industry in the south region of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where 22 thousand tons are accumulated per year. This material could be considered a source of biomass for carrying out pyrolysis processes for Value Added Products (VAP) production. With our continuing interest in adding value to sunflower seed hulls, the production of furfuryl alcohol from this residue is analyzed. As a first step a bio-oil rich in furfural is obtained from the pyrolysis of the hulls. Second, this bio-oil is sent to a catalytic treatment for converting furfural into furfuryl alcohol, employing Pd based catalysts in a Batch reactor under mild conditions (at 110°C and 0.4 MPa of H2). The Pd based catalysts, Pd/BCs, are prepared by supporting palladium on bio-chars (a co-product of pyrolysis of the hulls). The conversion of furfural and the selectivity to furfuryl alcohol are analyzed for the different catalysts, in the context of the evaluation of the possibility of producing VAP from the hulls.