• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.311-314
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• 1987

High-level yeast inocula was investigated as a means of overcoming the inhibition problem in ethanol fermentation of hemicellulose hydrolyzate. When the inoculum exceeded 25g dry cells/liter, the fermentation proceeded completely to the end within 24 hours. Furfural was taken up by Pachysolen tannophilus and catabolized to furfuryl alcohol. Thus inhibitory effect of furfural component was less adverse toward ethanol production than that of non-furfural components in hemicellulose hydrolyzate. The specific ethanol productivity in the fermentation of hemicellulose hydrolyzate was 14% of that of simulated media containing 41.8g xylose and 2.3g furfural per liter.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.12 no.3_4
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• pp.55-59
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• 1997

Furfural, an organic solvent, is widely used as synthetic component material in producing chemical products. However, furfural has been reported that it shows strong toxicities to human being showing intense stimulus to skin, eyes, mucous membrane and nerve system. It is also known to cause anemia, liver cirrhosis, kidney failure and genetic toxicity in the human being working in the exposed area. LD$_{50}$ of furfural for peritoneal injected mouse has been known around 20mg/kg, but the acute toxicity on aquatic organisms such as fish, daphnid or algae are not well known, compared to those on rodents. In this experiment, we studied on the fish toxicity of furfural using Japanese Medaka (Orvzias latipes) and Common Carp (Cvprinus carpio). We also observed histological changes in the fish organs. The LC$_{50}$ were 12. Smg/L in Japanese Medaka and 21.8 mg/L in Common Carp, respectively. When Common Carps were exposed to 120mg/L of furfural concentration for 30 minutes, blood congestion in gills and lysis of secondary lamella were shown. Though the muscle of caudal fin was not completely eroded, its epidermic cells were shown to be necrotic in various parts. Tissue atrophy and cell necrosis were also shown in the liver of Common Carps exposed to furfural. From these results, furfural seems to cause histological damages on liver, an internal organ as well as on external organs such as gills and fins eventhough the fish were exposed for a short-term.

• Clean Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.250-257
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• 2016

As an attempt to replacing petroleum-based chemicals with bio-based ones, synthesis of furfural from biomass-derived xylose attracts much attention in recent days. Conventionally, furfural from xylose has been produced via the utilization of highly corrosive, toxic, and environmentally unfriendly mineral acids such as sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid. In this study, microwave-assisted biphasic reaction process in the presence of novel bio-based heterogeneous acid catalysts was developed for the eco-benign and effective synthesis of furfural from xylose. The microwave was irradiated for reaction acceleration and a biphasic system consisting of $H_2O$ : MIBK (1 : 2) was designed for continuous extraction of furfural into the organic phase in order to reduce the undesired side products formed by decomposition/condensation/oligomerization in the acidic aqueous phase. Moreover, sulfonated amorphous carbonaceous materials were prepared from wood powder, the most abundant lignocellulosic biomass. The prepared catalysts were characterized by FT-IR, XPS, BET, elemental analysis and they were used as bio-based heterogeneous acid catalysts for the dehydration of xylose into furfural more effectively. For further optimization, the effect of temperature, reaction time, water/organic solvent ratio, and substrate/catalyst ratio on the xylose conversion and furfural yield were investigated and 100% conversion of xylose and 74% yield of furfural was achieved within 5 h at $180^{\circ}C$. The bio-based heterogeneous acid catalysts could be used three times without any significant loss of activity. This greener protocol provides highly selective conversion of xylose to furfural as well as facile isolation of product and bio-based heterogeneous acid catalysts can alternate the environmentally-burdened mineral acids.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.561-569
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• 2023

Furfural is a platform chemical that is produced from xylose, one of the hemicellulose components of lignocellulosic biomass. Furfural can be used as an important feedstock for phenolic compounds or biofuels. In this study, we compared and optimized the conditions for producing furfural from xylose in a batch system using two types of catalysts: sulfuric acid, which is commonly used in the furfural production process, and formic acid, which is an environmentally friendly catalyst. We investigated the effects of xylose initial concentration (10 g/L~100 g/L), reaction temperature (140~200 ℃), sulfuric acid catalyst (1~3 wt%), formic acid catalyst (5~10 wt%), and reaction time on the furfural yield. The optimal conditions according to the type of catalyst were as follows. For sulfuric acid catalyst, 3 wt% of catalyst concentration, 50 g/L of xylose initial concentration, 180 ℃ of temperature, and 10min of reaction time resulted in a maximum furfural yield of 59.0%. For formic acid catalyst, 5 wt% of catalyst concentration, 50 g/L of xylose initial concentration, 180 ℃ of temperature, and 150 min of reaction time resulted in a furfural yield of 65.3%.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.10-15
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• 2016

In this new energy economy era, the importance of renewable energy resource needs to be highly addressed, as the demand of energy dramatically increases and fossil fuel is being exhausted. Lignocellulosic biomass is considered as the sustainable and renewable feedstock to produce biochemicals and biofuels that are the alternative for petroleum derived products. Furfural is a natural precursor for the range of furan based chemicals and solvents such as methylfuran, tetrahydrofuran, methyltetrahydrofuran, ethyltetrahydrofuryl ether, ethyl levulinate, levulinic acid, and alkanes. Thus, furfural should be a renewable platform chemical for biochemicals and renewable biofuels. In this paper, the concept of biorefinery, furfural production and its applications are briefly reviewed.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers P
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.212-217
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• 2010

When paper which was applied as insulation in oil-filled transformer was aged by thermal, its electrical, mechanical and chemical characteristics were changed and deteriorated. Therefore operating temperature was more higher, damage of paper was more quicker. Insulating paper which was generally made with cellulose was degraded, polymer of long length chain was decomposed as a monomer and CO, $CO_2$ gas and/or by-product such as furfural was produced from paper at the same time. In according with detection these gas and furfural by dissolved gas analysis(DGA) and high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC), we have investigated effects of CO, $CO_2$ gas and furfural on insulation of paper. Also we have analyzed for correlation between furfural and CO, $CO_2$ gas using linear regression method that was known as useful, credible statistical analysis.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.104-113
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• 2020

Adsorptive breakthrough modelling is essential for design of a sorption packed bed. In this work, breakthrough modelling of the furfural uptake in bagasse fly ash (BFA) packed bed has been performed. Effect of various parameters like bed height (Z = 15-60 cm), flow rate (Q = 0.02-0.04 L/min) and initial furfural concentration (C_o = 50-200 mg/L) on the breakthrough curve of furfural sorption in a BFA packed bed have been studied. Enhanced breakthrough performance was observed for the higher value of Z, and lower values of C_o and Q. For C_o = 100 mg/L, packed bed operated at Q = 0.03 L/min and Z = 60 cm was found to have lowest adsorbent utilization rate of 5.61 g/L with highest breakthrough volume of 14.67 L. Bed depth service time and Thomas models well represented the experimental data points under all experimental conditions. It can be concluded that BFA can be utilized efficiently in continuous system for the removal of furfural. Overall, more than 99% of furfural was adsorbed in BFA packed bed at experimental conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.475-489
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• 2022

The objective of this study was to understand the conversion characteristics of glucose and xylose using the major monosaccharide standards for lignocellulosic biomass. The acid-catalyzed organosolv pretreatment conducted using ethanol was significantly different from the acid-catalyzed process conducted in an aqueous medium. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), levulinic acid and furfural were produced from glucose conversion. The maximum yield of 5-HMF was 5.5%, at 200℃, when 0.5% sulfuric acid was used. The maximum yield of levulinic acid was 21.5%, at 220℃, when 1.0% sulfuric acid was used. Furfural was produced from xylose conversion and under 0.5% sulfuric acid, furfural reached the maximum yield 48.5% at 210℃. Ethyl levulinate and methyl levulinate were also formed from the glucose standard following the esterification reaction conducted under conditions of the combined conversion method, which proceeded under both ethanol-rich and water-rich conditions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.2165-2172
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• 2017

Lignocellulose is now a promising raw material for biofuel production. However, the lignin complex and crystalline cellulose require pretreatment steps for breakdown of the crystalline structure of cellulose for the generation of fermentable sugars. Moreover, several fermentation inhibitors are generated with sugar compounds, majorly furfural. The mitigation of these inhibitors is required for the further fermentation steps to proceed. Amino acids were investigated on furfural-induced growth inhibition in E. coli producing isobutanol. Glycine and serine were the most effective compounds against furfural. In minimal media, glycine conferred tolerance against furfural. From the $IC_{50}$ value for inhibitors in the production media, only glycine could alleviate growth arrest for furfural, where 6 mM glycine addition led to a slight increase in growth rate and isobutanol production from 2.6 to 2.8 g/l under furfural stress. Overexpression of glycine pathway genes did not lead to alleviation. However, addition of glycine to engineered strains blocked the growth arrest and increased the isobutanol production about 2.3-fold.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.76-85
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• 2015

In this study, we investigated optimal reaction conditions for furfural production from lignocellulosic biomass by two-stage acid treatment. Furfural produced by this method was recovered using XAD-4 resin. Oxalic and sulfuric acid were used as catalysts for the first stage of treatment. The concentration of xylose in the hydrolysate obtained from the first stage was $18.86g/{\ell}$ with oxalic acid and $19.35g/{\ell}$ with sulfuric acid. The concentration of oligosaccharide was relatively high when sulfuric acid was used. Maximum yield of furfural, that is, 55.10% ($6.71g/{\ell}$), was obtained when oxalic acid was used for the first stage and $0.1m{\ell}$ of sulfuric acid was used for the second stage of treatment for 90 min. Furfural production yield increased with increasing the reaction time. Most of the furfural produced by this two-stage treatment method was recovered using XAD-4 resin.