5‐(Chloromethyl)Furfural as a Potential Source for Continuous Hydrogenation of 5‐(Hydroxymethyl)Furfural to 2, 5‐Bis(Hydroxymethyl)Furan. Issue 12 (5th July 2022) - Park, Dongwoon
Abstract: 5‐(Chloromethyl)furfural (CMF) is cheaper than sugars, because it can be obtained from biomass waste. Herein, the stepwise conversion of CMF to 2, 5‐bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) via 5‐(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) was demonstrated for the first time. The purified CMF was hydrolyzed in continuous mode followed by extraction with ethyl acetate (EA), resulting in a HMF yield of 70 mol%. The following factors were assessed during continuous hydrogenation of the produced HMF: the presence of EA in the reaction solvent, HMF concentrations of up to 10 wt% in the feed, the mass production of mesoporous Cu‐Al2 O3 (meso‐CuA‐kg), the shaping of meso‐CuA‐kg into cylindrical pellets, and the setup of the catalytic reactor. Through these efforts, the hydrogenation of HMF over meso‐CuA‐kg could be sustained for 100 h under the above optimized conditions, affording BHMF in 98 % yield. The approach described in this study can greatly contribute to the value‐added transformation of CMF into HMF and BHMF. Abstract : 5‐(Chloromethyl)furfural (CMF) is hydrolyzed to 5‐(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) in a continuous system and then hydrogenated to 2, 5‐bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) in a fixed‐bed reactor containing mesoporous copper‐alumina; this is the first report presenting CMF as a potential source to produce the biomass‐derived BHMF diol.