CO2-Catalysed conversion of carbohydrates to 5-hydroxymethyl furfural. Issue 23 (16th September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Roland; Harris, Jesse; Champagne, Pascale; Jessop, Philip G.
• Is Part Of: Green chemistry. Volume 18:Issue 23(2016)
• Page Start: 6305
• Page End: 6310
• Publication Date: 2016-09-16
• Subjects: Environmental chemistry -- Industrial applications -- Periodicals; Environmental management -- Periodicals; 660
• DOI: 10.1039/c6gc01853j
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1463-9262

Abstract

Abstract : CO2 in water catalyzes the conversion of cellulose, starch, xylan, or glucose to HMF. Abstract : The conversion of sugars to furans has been gaining attention in recent years as a potential source of renewable chemical building blocks. This work considers the viability of CO2 as an acid catalyst for the conversion of carbohydrates to 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (5-HMF). In addition, the effects of secondary solvents for the separation of the produced 5-HMF from the aqueous reaction mixtures are explored. The addition of salts as a means of phase separation to improve the 5-HMF yield was also investigated. The yield of 5-HMF for CO2 -catalyzed glucose conversions was increased from 18% to 64% by varying the concentrations of sugar, salt and choice of secondary solvent. This method was also applied to starch, xylan, and cellulose, and was able to achieve 55%, 51% and 22% respectively. This work shows that high yields of 5-HMF could be achieved through the use of CO2 -catalyzed carbohydrate conversions.