Abstract:The extensive consumption of traditional fossil energy has led to increasingly severe energy shortages and environmental pollution. Biomass, a widely available and abundant renewable resource, exhibits significant potential as a substitute for traditional fossil energy. A critical step in the efficient utilization of biomass is its catalytic conversion into platform molecules, such as furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). These platform molecules can undergo catalytic upgrading to produce high-value chemicals, playing a crucial role in promoting the development of green and sustainable energy. Previous research on biomass conversion focused on maximizing the yield of a single product, which has limited the comprehensive utilization of biomass. In order to fully utilize the cellulose and hemicellulose fractions of the corn stalks, agricultural waste corn stalks were used as the feedstock, with dilute sulfuric acid as the catalyst for the homogeneous catalytic conversion of corn stalks into furfural and HMF. A synergistic optimization strategy was employed to simultaneously enhance the yields of both furfural and HMF. The effects of temperature, acid concentration, solid-to-liquid ratio, and solvent on the reaction were thoroughly investigated. By comparing the hydrothermal treatment of corn stalks under catalyst-free conditions, it was found that the acidic environment promoted the destruction of corn stalk structure and intensified the depolymerization reaction, thus accelerating the conversion of corn stalks. Further optimization of the reaction conditions demonstrated that the yields of furfural and HMF could be significantly increased by using the γ-valerolactone-water solvent system with an optimal solid-liquid ratio of 1∶20, the yield of furfural reached a maximum of 62.4% after 60 min at 180 ℃, while the yield of HMF reached a maximum of 24.9% after 100 min. Further studies on product stability showed significant improvement in the γ-valerolactone-water system compared with the aqueous solution, and the mass loss rate of furfural was reduced from 25.5% in the aqueous solution to 3.2% in the γ-valerolactone-water system. The presence of the organic solvent limited the degradation reaction and condensation reaction of furfural itself, which facilitated an improvement in furfural yield and ensured its stable existence in the system after production. As for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, its mass loss in the aqueous system and γ-valerolactone-water system reached 80.6% and 78.6%, respectively, suggesting its poor stability. This study systematically reveals the reaction mechanisms of the homogeneous catalytic conversion of corn stalks into furfural and HMF using dilute sulfuric acid, providing valuable insights for the high-value utilization of biomass resources. Close-