Furfural preparation using KHSO4 as the catalyst and its recovery and reuse

KHSO4 was used for furfural production, and the catalyst was recovered. The wet solid mixture after reaction was subjected to hot water washing and solid-liquid separation to recover the catalyst into the filtrate. Methods for determination of the catalyst content in both liquid and solid phases were invented. The effect of the mass ratio of hot water to the wet solid mixture, washing time, and number of washing times on the catalyst recovery were investigated. The total recovery of the catalyst into the filtrate was up to 87.7% when using the optimum conditions. The catalyst was reused in laboratory experiments up to 5 successive times. The recovered catalyst had the same activity for furfural production as the fresh catalyst on the same dosage level. Thermal gravimetric and X-ray diffractometer analyses of the catalyst showed that the catalyst was stable and reusable.