The present investigations were carried out to study the effect
of various concentrations of hydrochloric acid at different time
periods on the yield of furfural from ‘Sarkaoda’. The maximum yield
(8.89% )was obtained when the material was digested with 12 percent
hydrochloric acid at 100 + 1°C fora period of 160 minutes, A con-
siderable increase in the yield of furfural (from 8.89 to 23.09%) was
also observed when aluminium chloride was used as the catalyst at
optimum conditions.