Patent ID: 8772514

Claim:
A method of preparing furfural compounds, comprising: forming a solution by mixing an organic ammonium salt and a hydroxyl organic solvent, wherein the organic ammonium salt is at least one of the compounds represented by the general chemical formulas [I], [II], [III] or [IV]: wherein R 1 ˜R 11 are independently selected from hydrogen (H), alkyl functional groups, cycloalkyl functional groups, aryl functional groups, and alkaryl functional groups, and the functional groups optionally connect to hydrogen, OH, Cl, Br, I, or CN, and the organic ammonium salt has a melting temperature >100° C., and wherein the hydroxyl solvent comprises C 2 -C 6 compounds of diols, triols, or polyalcohols; forming a mixture by added a carbohydrate to the solution, wherein the mixture further comprises a catalyst, the catalyst is chloride or bromide containing chromium compounds, chloride or bromide containing tin compounds, chromium complex of N-heterocyclic carbine, zeolite, or sulfonic acid ion-exchange resin catalyst; and heating the mixture to a reaction temperature for conversion of the carbohydrate to the furfural compounds.