Corn cob is an abundant agricultural waste around Hyderabad, rich in pentosans (~30 wt%) and cellulose (~40 wt%). United Andhra (4 MMT/year) is the second largest producer of corn, with the highest productivity (5.7 MT/hectare) in the country after Karnataka (4.4 MMT). Therefore, this proposal was focused on utilizing waste corn cobs to produce industrially relevant organic chemicals: furfural and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF). Suck kinds of technological initiatives will improve the economics of our country by creating job opportunities in rural areas.
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