Preparation of solid acid catalyst packing AAO/SBA-15-SO3H and application for dehydration of xylose to furfural

The solid acid catalyst packing AAO/SBA-15-SO₃H was prepared by the co-condensation and grafting method with porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) as support. FT-IR, SEM and TEM were applied to characterize the prepared samples. Results showed that catalysts prepared by two methods both contained active centers, and SBA-15 nanorod arrays grow inside a porous alumina membrane AAO and are perpendicular to the substrate. Their catalytic performances were tested for dehydration of xylose to furfural. The conversion of xylose and selectivity of furfural were 90% and 74% on the AAO/SBA-15-SO₃H(C) catalyst prepared by the co-condensation method, respectively. The deactivation and regeneration of the AAO/SBA-15-SO₃H(C) catalyst for the dehydration of xylose were also investigated, the activity of catalyst treated by 30 wt.% H₂O₂ almost was recovered.