Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
By-product utilization adds economic value to agricultural waste.
Furfural is an important industrial chemical intermediate.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Furfural is produced via the acid hydrolysis of pentosans (five-carbon sugars like xylose), which are abundant in the hemicellulosic fraction of agricultural residues.
Major agricultural residues used for commercial production include corn cobs, oat hulls, cottonseed hulls, and
bagasse (the fibrous waste of sugarcane extraction).
Animal waste products like cattle waste, cow dung, and municipal sewage contain low pentosan concentrations and are unsuitable for commercial furfural production.
Step 4: Final Answer:
Furfural is produced economically from bagasse.