Furfural production in a biphasic system using a carbonaceous solid acid catalyst

[Display omitted] •Furfural formation using a carbonaceous solid acid catalyst in a biphasic system including CPME was studied.•At complete xylose conversion, a high furfural yield (70%) at 175 °C in 18 h was obtained in the biphasic system.•The carbonaceous solid acid catalyst proved hydrothermal stability and good catalytic activity after three reusability cycles. The formation of furfural from xylose was investigated under heterogeneously catalyzed conditions with Starbon®450-SO3H as a catalyst in a biphasic system. Experiments were performed based on a statistical experimental design. The variables considered were time and temperature. Starbon®450-SO3H was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, N2-physisorption, thermogravimetric analysis, diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform, Raman spectroscopy, pyridine titration and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicate that sulfonated Starbon®450-SO3H can be an effective solid acid catalyst for furfural formation. A maximum furfural yield and selectivity of 70 mol% was achieved at complete xylose conversion under optimum experimental conditions. The present paper suggests that functionalized Starbon®450-SO3H can be employed as an efficient solid acid catalyst that has significant hydrothermal stability and can be reused for several cycles to produce furfural from xylose.