[6] Furfural is produced by the acid-catalyzed digestion of pentosan sugars, C5 polysaccharides, in biomass.

Thus, the raw materials of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran are renewable biomass rich with cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin, such as corncobs or bagasse and other plant and agricultural waste.

It also is used in the electrolyte formulation for secondary lithium electrodes and as a component in alternative fuels.

[2] Other common uses of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran is as a solvent for Grignard reagents used in organometallic and biphasic chemical processes, because of the oxygen atom's ability to coordinate to the magnesium ion component of the Grignard reagent, or to azeotropically dry products.

Its lower melting point makes it useful for lower temperature reactions, and its higher boiling point allows procedures under reflux at higher temperatures (relative to THF).