Direct biomass conversion into chemicals remains a great challenge because of the complexity of the compounds; hence, this process has attracted less attention than conversion into fuel. In this study, we propose
a simple one-step method for converting bagasse into furfural (FF) and acetic acid (AC). In this method,
bagasse pyrolysis over ZnCl2/HZSM-5 achieved a high FF and AC yield (58.10%) and a 1.01 FF/AC ratio,
but a very low yield of medium-boiling point components. However, bagasse pyrolysis using HZSM-5
alone or ZnCl2 alone still remained large amounts of medium-boiling point components or high-boiling
point components. The synergistic effect of HZSM-5 and ZnCl2, which combines pyrolysis, zeolite cracking,
and Lewis acid-selective catalysis results in highly efficient bagasse conversion into FF and AC. Therefore,
our study provides a novel, simple method for directly converting biomass into high-yield useful chemical.