In this article, a novel and high-performance
mesoporous carbon-based
solid acid catalyst was prepared using ethylene tar (ET) as a precursor,
which is a byproduct of ethylene production. First, ET was carbonized
at 550 °C by using magnesium acetate as the template. After that,
the mesoporous ET-based solid acid catalyst was obtained by a one-step
sulfonation process that removes the templates simultaneously. On
the basis of these facts, the maximum yield of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural
(5-HMF) in the presence of an ET catalyst during the dehydration of
fructose can reach 87.8%. This effective catalytic activity is mainly
attributed to the large specific surface area and high density of
sulfonic acid groups existing in the ET catalyst. Moreover, no distinct
activity drop was observed during five recycling runs that confirmed
good recyclability and thermal stability of the ET catalyst. This
research provides a novel and promising method for the utilization
of ET as a low-cost, recyclable, and high-performance catalyst.
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