Heterogeneous phosphotungstate catalyst mediated efficient alcoholysis of furfuryl alcohol into long-chain levulinates

Abstract

The synthesis of alternative fuels from biomass has emerged to be a vital strategy to maintain sustainable development. Long-chain levulinate esters (LEs) are a class of good biofuel candidates because they have similar structures to biodiesels and superior heating values. The synthesis of long-chain LEs with effective heterogeneous catalysts has always been challenging. In this work, a few heterogeneous phosphotungstate catalysts were facilely prepared, among which the V3+ exchanged phosphotungstic acid catalyst (VPW) was the most active for the alcoholysis of furfuryl alcohol (FA) and 1-hexanol into 1-hexyl levulinate (HL). A maximum HL yield of 63% was achieved at 180 °C. The VPW catalyst could be reused without obvious decrement of activity. The system was also applicable to the alcoholysis of FA with other hexanols and 1-octanol into various long-chain LEs.