Chemicals from Wood Hydrolysis and Fermentation

CHEMICALS OBTAINED FROM WOOD HYDROLYSIS AND FERMENTATION 

Hydrolysis of the polysaccharides in wood to sugars and fermentation of the sugars to ethyl alcohol is no longer an economical process in this country. It cannot compete with alcohol made from ethylene or fermentation of com. 

A number of lower volume chemicals can be obtained from wood hydrolysis. Furfural is formed from the hydrolysis of some polysaccharides to pentoses, followed by dehydration. This process is still used in the Soviet Union. Furfural is used in small amounts in some phenol plastics it is a small minor pesticide and an important commercial solvent. It can be converted into the common solvent tetrahydrofuran (THF) and an important solvent and intermediate in organic synthesis, furfuryl alcohol. 

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