Furfural from some decorative plants grown in Saudi Arabia

In view of the increased trend of the development and reliance on biomass as a source to meet the future demand for chemicals and fuels, an investigation of some decorative plants widely grown in Saudi Arabia has been carried out. The plants, Acacia farnesiana, Bougainvilla spectabilis, Eucalyptus rostrata, Delonix regia, Parkinsonia aculeata, Albizia lebbeck, Lantana camara, and Washingtonia filifera have been analyzed for their furfural contents by colorimetric spectrophotometry after hydrolysis in 13 per cent HCl and extraction with xylene. The results revealed that the furfural concentration in these species was in the range of 4.40-9.40 per cent, indicating the potential of these plants as good source of pentosans and furfural, similar to that obtained from other widely used agricultural biomass residues.