Efficient Conversion of Carbohydrates to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) Using ZrCl4 Catalyst in Nitromethane

Abstract

HIGHLIGHTSA promising process for 5-Hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) formation from biomass. Solvent nitromethane along with a variety of metal chloride and mineral acids as catalyst were studied for the synthesis of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a key precursor in the formation of alternative fuel 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) and other value added chemicals. Reaction time, temperature and catalyst concentration were also systematically studied to achieve highest HMF formation. Among the carbohydrates studied for HMF synthesis, D-fructose and inulin were found particularly most productive yielding >70% and with 100% selectivity using ZrCl4 in nitromethane at 100 o C during 3h. Readily available reagents, solvents, and simple reaction conditions could mark this process promising for HMF formation from biomass.

Biomass derived β-cyclodextrin-SO 3 H carbonaceous solid acid catalyst for catalytic conversion of carbohydrates to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

“…Intrigued by these studies [24,25] and our continuing work in this field [26,27], we choose readily available -cyclodextrin as a carbon precursor and p-TSA as a sulphonating agent. Naturally occurring -cyclodextrin can be prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis of starch which comes from biomass [28].…”

Efficient conversion of glucosamine and N‐acetyl‐glucosamine to 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural and levulinic acid

“…It has also been found that an ionic liquid, ZrCl 4 , and microwave may have a synergistic relationship with the formation of 5‐HMF. Recently, Thombal and Jadhav 31 showed that a combination system consisting of ZrCl 4 as a catalyst and nitromethane as a solvent could efficiently convert fructose and inulin into 5‐HMF with a high yield (73–74%). However, the applications of ZrCl 4 as a catalyst for the conversion of cellulose and biomass into 5‐HMF and LA are limited.…”

One-vessel synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in concentrated zinc chloride solution from lignocellulosic materials

“…However, aqueous systems suffer from low production yield and poor selectivity in their conversion due to the further degradation and condensation of HMF in the heterogeneous mixture of cellulose and catalysts (De Souza 2011). Special attention has been given to finding an economical and efficient way of biomass conversion (Jiang et al 2012;Lai et al 2013;Thombal and Jadhav 2014). Ionic liquids as solvents in catalyzed biomass conversions (Peng and Ren 2011;Guo et al 2012) were reported as promising systems for the conversion of cellulose, glucose (Zakrzewska et al 2011), and fructose (Binder and Raines 2009) to HMF due to their low vapor pressure, good thermal stability, and a range of tunable hydrophobicity.…”