As a platform chemical and building block for polymers, furfural's long-term market growth will also be determined by the growth of the bioplastic market (see Bioplastics are used in an increasing number of markets ). Bioplastics are used in an increasing number of markets – from packaging, catering products, consumer electronics, automotive, agriculture/horticulture and toys to textiles and a number of other segments. ¹ The US biomass program identified furfural as one of the Top 30 value added chemicals ² . It is a chemical that is entirely made from the non-food part

Washington DC (USA), September 2013: The proposed legislation ^[1] (introduce by Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) and cosponsored by Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas) is described as a " bipartisan legislation which provides renewable chemical producers access to a production tax credit when they create American jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil ."

Furfural was first commercially produced in the USA in 1922. Today the USA, one of the major and growing markets , imports 100% of its demand from China, Thailand, the Dominican Republic and South Africa. Furfural is one of the top

It may be a challenge to imagine corncobs powering rockets and it may be even more difficult to believe: This happened already in the 1940s!

Corncobs used to be the feedstock of preference to make furfural in the USA and France. Furfural is the platform chemical from which furfuryl alcohol (FA) is made. Furaline, a mixture of FA (41%), methanol (18%), and xylidine (dimethyl aniline; 41%) is a rocket fuel. The system is "hypergolic": When the furaline comes into contact with the nitric acid, it ignites by itself without external aid ^[1] . In the early 1940s, the German

Despite the the fact that furfural was discovered in 1832 , Gianluca and his co-authors found that ..

there is still much to be discovered, especially with regard to the complex set of side and loss reactions seemingly involving largely unknown reaction intermediates.

In the January 2014 issue, Green Chemistry presents a critical review of "both the mechanistic and kinetic aspects of furfural formation from pentoses in aqueous acidic media have been reviewed. Based on the reviewed literature, a comprehensive reaction mechanism has been proposed consisting

The "Low-hanging Fruit" offers shareholders in the sugar or pulp & paper industry a low risk expansion opportunity into the future of bioenergy/biochemicals.

The pulp & paper as well as the sugar industries are large employers and have the ability to create additional and especially to maintain current jobs. In order to remain globally competitive, we suggest that these industries have to invest in improving energy efficiencies, reduce water consumption and optimise their biomass value chains.

During our ten years of active R&D involvement, we discovered that beneficiating biomass requires far less innovation than...

For 10 years, until 2009, furfural prices have remained in a relatively stable band of between $650/t and $1,200/t FOB (CMP). During this period, the Chinese were found guilty (in the US and Europe) of dumping, which to some degree explains the low prices. In recent years, however, internal demand has absorbed Chinese production capacity. China has from time

At DalinYebo, we evaluated palm oil extraction residues and found them to be suitable for the production of furfural, before the rest of the biomass is processed to .e.g. pellets, bio-oils, etc.

Why is it not used as feedstock?

There are two types of palm oil extraction residues. The kernel shells and the empty fruit bunches (EFB) . We found that both of them are suitable for furfural production, but due to their different physical properties, they require different processing methods. Until now, we have not (yet) found an organisation that is interested in exploring

.. and there are other and better value added uses, than just burning it!

Over the years, DalinYebo evaluated/verified the use of furfural residue for a host of applications, such as (but not limited to) the following:

Furfural Residue: Ideal Feedstock For Cellulosic Ethanol

Green Coal

Cattle Feed

Mulch/Fertiliser

Activated Carbon

Celluling Fibre

Absorbent to clean oil/chemical spills

We are available to further discuss the above. Don't hesitate to contact us .

In addition to information provided for our clients under " About Biomass ", we released highlights of our biomass program and the different feedstocks we evaluated (over the last 10 years) for the production of furfural.

For owners of biomass we offer technology and market access , creating investment opportunities in the cleantech space. Don't hesitate to contact us should wish to discuss the potential your biomass may have for the production of furfural.

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{jb_iconic_arrow}This article is part of a series on "biomass for furfural" production, which provides our clients with updates and

Global rice production is around  465 million tons (Jan 2013), which results ±120 million tonnes of rice husks. The nutritional value of the husks is very low and they take very long to decompose, i.e. they are not appropriate for composting. The pentosan content of husks is suitable for furfural production, but its high silica content has in the past been 'blamed' as the cause for the failure of at least two furfural plants (one in the USA and one in Italy).

However, we (and other researchers ) have found that the silica content does

Corncobs are used for about 70% of the global furfural production. They are harvested over a ±3months period and then stockpiled to supply the biorefinery for the balance of the year.

It used to be a cheap feedstock in China, which lead to the closure of all of the US furfural plants. This has now changed: Cob prices in China are now at levels that they used to be in the USA in the 1990s. There are many technical and agricultural reasons why cobs are a good feedstock choice. We have previously reported:

{jb_iconic_article}Removal of cobs does

The Chinese poultry industry is a major consumer of maize (corn) and reports on that industry provide an insight on the Chinese maize production ^[1] , which is the sole source of the feedstock of that country's furfural production.

In August 2013, there were heavy floods in one of the major production territories. Although the total impact of this years floods ^[2] have not been fully understood, we know that some furfural companies have lost their stockpiles and others will struggle to procure sufficient cobs for the 2013/14