Indian researchers develop zeolite catalyst to speed up furfural production from waste

In India, researchers from the National Chemical Laboratory have developed a new zeolite catalyst that can speed up the production of furfural from agricultural waste biomass without having to pass through traditional intermediate steps that are time consuming and costly. Ethyl levulinate which is produced from furfural is a key product of biorefineries, so finding cheaper shortcuts to its production could help the country build an industry based on producing intermediates from its extensive supplies of agricultural waste.