Evaluation of residual biomass produced in Cerrado Tocantinense as potential raw biomass for biorefinery

Furanic compounds such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural (FF) obtained from biomass have emerged as important industrial chemical platforms. In this sense, the present study aimed to evaluate the economical use of crude biomass of rice husk (RH), cupuaçu peel (CP), and pequi peel (PP) to obtain furanic compounds such as HMF and FF, using the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM][Cl]) and the catalyst chromium(III) chloride hexahydrate (CrCl3.6H2O). The results of the analysis showed that biomasses have potential for use in biorefineries; however, the most promising among those is the RH, due to the significant content of holocellulose. The optimization of hydrolysis through the methodology developed by Dunning and Dallas (1949) made it possible to obtain significant levels of glucose (14.28%), xylose (3.81%), and arabinose (0.93%). The obtained products were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FT-IR) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The best yields for RH obtained were 1.92% (HMF) and 2.89% (FF). From the results obtained, it can be concluded that the RH has a good capacity for producing value-added compounds in biorefineries.