Value of Coproduction of Ethanol and Furfural from Acid Hydrolysis Processes

In the acid hydrolysis of a cellulosic feedstock (wood, wood wastes, or crop residues), up to 3.65 lb of furfural may be coproduced with each gallon of ethanol for only the cost of recovering and purifying it. Each plant producing 50 x 106 gal/yr of ethanol would produce an amount of by-product furfural equal to the total current domestic production. Thus, the need arises for investigation intopotentially suitable processes for deriving profitable end products from furfural and thus expanding the market. The objectives of this study were to determine the economic potential of five selected, large volume derivatives of furfural that could displace hydrocarbon-based chemicals, and the consequent value of furfural as a by-product to the cellulose hydrolysis process of ethanol production.