The optimization of the production of γ-valerolactone (GVL) from furfural (FAL) through a cascade of transformations involving hydrogen transfer and different acid-driven reactions has been tackled by using a bifunctional Zr–Al-beta zeolite as catalyst. The study involved the simultaneous evaluation of the influence of the main reaction parameters affecting the performance of the selected catalyst, including temperature, catalyst loading, furfural concentration, and reaction time. An experimental design methodology was applied, aiming to maximize the performance of the catalyst in terms of GVL selectivity and efficient use of the biomass resource (minimizing the undesired products), herein denoted as “selective productivity”. The effects of the studied reaction parameters on each response factor have been obtained and discussed. The ratio furfural/catalyst appears as the key parameter governing the performance of the catalyst system. Under the optimized reaction conditions, the maximum value achieved for GVL selective productivity is 0.61, corresponding to an S_GVL of 70.0% and a productivity of 0.88 g_GVL·g_CAT^–1.

中文翻译：

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Zr-Al-Beta沸石上糠醛一锅法转化为γ-戊内酯的反应条件的合理优化：生物质的有效利用

通过使用双功能Zr-Al-β沸石作为催化剂，解决了通过糠醛（FAL）通过涉及氢转移和不同酸驱动反应的级联转化优化生产γ-戊内酯（GVL）的问题。该研究涉及同时评估主要反应参数对所选催化剂性能的影响，包括温度，催化剂负载量，糠醛浓度和反应时间。应用实验设计方法，目的在于就GVL选择性和有效利用生物质资源（最小化不需要的产物）方面最大化催化剂的性能，在本文中称为“选择性生产率”。已获得并讨论了所研究的反应参数对每个响应因子的影响。糠醛/催化剂的比例似乎是控制催化剂体系性能的关键参数。在优化的反应条件下，GVL选择性生产率的最大值为0.61，对应于S _GVL为70.0％，生产率为0.88 g _GVL ·g _CAT ^–1。