A Comparative Catalyst Evaluation for the Selective Oxidative Esterification of Furfural

Catalysts based on gold or other metals on different supports were studied in the selective oxidative esterification of furfural with methanol to methyl 2-furoate. Methyl 2-furoate can be used in specialty fragrances, a high added-value application. Catalyst evaluation and selection were performed u...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inTopics in catalysis Vol. 59; no. 17-18; pp. 1659 - 1667
Main Authors Ampelli, C., Centi, G., Genovese, C., Papanikolaou, G., Pizzi, R., Perathoner, S., van Putten, R.-J., Schouten, K. J. P., Gluhoi, A. C., van der Waal, J. C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Springer US 01.10.2016
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Catalysis
Catalysts
Cerium oxides
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemisorption
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
Methanol
Original Paper
Pharmacy
Physical Chemistry
Surface chemistry
Selective oxidative esterification
Methyl 2-furoate
High-throughput screening
Gold supported catalysts
Furfural
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Catalysts based on gold or other metals on different supports were studied in the selective oxidative esterification of furfural with methanol to methyl 2-furoate. Methyl 2-furoate can be used in specialty fragrances, a high added-value application. Catalyst evaluation and selection were performed using the Avantium quick catalyst screening (QCS) platform using industrially relevant conditions. The best performances were exclusively obtained with gold based catalyst supported on ceria or titania, though these catalysts showed rather poor behavior in tests with a different furfural to methanol ratio. Selected gold catalysts were studied subsequently in a conventional lab-scale autoclave under reaction conditions closer to those commonly applied in literature and effects of support type and preparation were included. For each of the two testing conditions a different catalyst was identified as the most optimal, which is explained by the strong chemisorption of furfural on the Au surface. Au/ZrO 2 catalysts, identified as optimal in QCS tests, show also high performances (about 99 % yield) in autoclave tests, although a different preparation was employed.
ISSN:1022-5528
1572-9028
DOI:10.1007/s11244-016-0675-y