CEH Report

Table of Contents

Abstract

Furfural is produced from agricultural wastes that contain pentosans, which are hydrolyzed to furfural and other by-products. Pentosans are hemicelluloses (complex carbohydrates) that are present within the cellulose in many woody plant tissues. The most common raw materials for furfural production include corncobs, bagasse from sugarcane processing, and by-product streams from tanning and cellulosic fiber production.

Most furfural plants are located close to available raw materials. Few operate on a twelve-month basis, with most operating on a seven- to eight-month schedule, coinciding with the harvest of agricultural products. Most of the output is either converted to furfuryl alcohol for furan resin production, used as such in lube oil refining or butadiene extraction, or exported.

About 74% of the world’s furfural production capacity is located in China, as of January 1, 2008. Other important countries with furfural production include the Dominican Republic and South Africa. Together, these three countries account for about 90% of worldwide installed furfural production capacity.

The global furfural market was in large imbalance over the past couple of years, driven mostly by the uncontrolled growth of Chinese furfural capacity. To bring the global furfural market back into balance, China needed to build alternative markets for furan resins and to consume large amounts of the material domestically. China’s move in this direction began during 2006 and 2007, when three furfural-to-tetrahydrofuran/PTMEG plants came on stream.

In 2007, furfural supply to its traditional main market outlet—furfuryl alcohol—got even tighter as a result of the combined effect of increased regulations in China leading to a temporary shutdown of a significant amount of furfural production capacity, significant domestic consumption of furfural for PTMEG production and increasing competition for pentosan-containing raw materials with domestic xylitol producers.

The following pie chart shows world consumption of furfural:

Albeit significant import tariffs protect the U.S. and EU markets, imported furfural from Chinese producers is still threatening domestic producers in Western Europe (domestic production of furfural in the United States has been forced out of business).

Significant amounts of furfural could be by-produced from biorefineries in the medium-term future via depolymerization of the hemicellulosic content of cellulosic material.