Conversion of xylose into furfural over Cr/Mg hydrotalcite catalysts

In this study, the coprecipitation method was used to synthesize a series of chromium-magnesium hydrotalcite materials. The trivalent and alkali metals in the materials acted as Lewis acid and Bronsted base catalysts, respectively. Its specific surface area was increased by calcining the chromium-magnesium hydrotalcite catalyst material. When dehydration of xylose to synthesize furfural was conducted at a temperature of 393 K for 16 h using a catalyst load of 100 mg and xylose substrate of 30 mg, a 50.3% yield was obtained at an optimal M3+/M2+ ratio of 13:20. The catalyst exhibited good stability, with 85.3% activity retained after being used for five cycles.