Furfuryl alcohol is manufactured industrially by hydrogenation of furfural, which is itself typically produced from waste bio-mass such as corncobs or sugar cane bagasse. As such furfuryl alcohol may be considered a green chemical.[5] One-pot systems have been investigated to produce furfuryl alcohol directly from xylose using solid acid catalysts.
Furfuryl alcohol (FA) and lactic acid (LA) are two of the most interesting biomolecules, easily obtainable from sugars and hence extremely attractive for green chemistry solutions. These substances undergo homopolymerization and they have been rarely considered for copolymerization.
The primary use of furfuryl alcohol is as a monomer for the synthesis of furan resins. These polymers are used in thermoset polymer matrix composites, cements, adhesives, coatings and casting/foundry resins.
The NOEL of 53 mg/kg bw per day for the related substance, furfural (Jonker, 2000), is > 10 000 times the estimated daily .
