Acidic Zeolite L as a Highly Efficient Catalyst for Dehydration of Fructose to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural in Ionic Liquid

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural and its Downstream Chemicals: A Review of Catalytic Routes

Biomass assumes an increasingly vital role in the realm of renewable energy and sustainable development due to its abundant availability, renewability, and minimal environmental impact. Within this context, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), derived from sugar dehydration, stands out as a critical bio-derived product. It serves as a pivotal multifunctional platform compound, integral in synthesizing various vital chemicals, including furan-based polymers, fine chemicals, and biofuels. The high reactivity of HMF, attributed to its highly active aldehyde, hydroxyl, and furan ring, underscores the challenge of selectively regulating its conversion to obtain the desired products. This review highlights the research progress on efficient catalytic systems for HMF synthesis, oxidation, reduction, and etherification. Additionally, it outlines the techno-economic analysis (TEA) and prospective research directions for the production of furan-based chemicals. Despite significant progress in catalysis research, and certain process routes demonstrating substantial economics, with key indicators surpassing petroleum-based products, a gap persists between fundamental research and large-scale industrialization. This is due to the lack of comprehensive engineering research on bio-based chemicals, making the commercialization process a distant goal. These findings provide valuable insights for further development of this field.

Deep eutectic solvent assisted fabrication of zirconium phytate thin nanosheets for important biomass transformations

Utilization of naturally occurring resources to construct functional catalytic materials is significantly important, and facile and environmental-benign strategies are highly desired to afford the materials having a specific structure and good catalytic activity. Herein, we reported an innovative deep eutectic solvent (DES)-assisted strategy to synthesize zirconium phytate with a thin nanosheet structure (denoted as Zr-Phy-DES) using plant-originated phytic acid (PhyA) as the renewable building block. This strategy was eco-friendly and adjustable owing to the designability of DESs. The Zr-Phy-DES as an acidic catalyst showed high activity on two important biomass transformations, i.e., dehydration of carbohydrates and Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction of ethyl levulinate. Interestingly, Zr-Phy-DES showed higher catalytic performance than the zirconium phytates prepared in ethylene glycol and N,N-dimethylformamide, confirming the advantage of DESs for preparing functional materials. Notably, the unique feature of this proposed strategy is that renewable catalysts are prepared in an environmental-benign solvent for efficiently catalyzing biomass transformation.

•

An eco-friendly strategy for preparing catalytic materials with a specific structure

•

The catalytic activity of the prepared materials varied with the type of solvents

•

The material prepared in deep eutectic solvent showed better performance

•

Catalytic materials from natural resources and green solvents to convert biomass

Recent Approaches in the Catalytic Transformation of Biomass-Derived 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural into 2,5-Diformylfuran

The conversion of biomass into a great variety of valuable chemicals, polymers, and fuels gives a sustainable alternative for the insufficiency of non-renewable fossil fuel resources and reduces environmental pollution. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), converted from sustainable carbohydrates, is a significant building block chemical, and the selective oxidation of HMF into 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) presents an ongoing challenge. DFF is a versatile platform molecule derived from biomass and has promising application in pharmaceuticals and polymers. This Review provides an overview of the latest developments of efficient catalytic systems for the sustainable conversion of HMF to DFF.

Novel solid acid catalyst for the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural with fructose dehydration

BACKGROUND: 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is a high value-added platform compound which can be obtained by dehydration of hexose under acidic conditions. OBJECTIVE: In this paper, a novel impregnation strategy for the molecular sieves (ZSM-5) as carrier and phosphotungstic acid (TPA) as active ingredient is proposed, the influence of the fructose dehydration process were studied and eco-friendliness, low-cost 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) was successfully obtained. METHOD: The structure surface area, pore size, acidity and microstructure of solid acid catalysts were investigated by XRD, BET, NH3-TPD and SEM. The influences of reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst dosage on the yield of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HFM) were investigated. RESULTS: The results showed that TPA/ZSM-5 (mass ratio 20:10) has good dispersion and catalytic activity, fructose dosage 5 g, reaction temperature 140 °C, reaction time 2 h, catalyst dosage 0.5 g, and the yield of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural was 80.75% and after five times use the yield of 5-HMF remained above 75%. CONCLUSION:

Insight into the dehydration of high-concentration fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in oxygen-containing polar aprotic solvents

A high 5-HMF yield of 85.4% was achieved in polar aprotic oxygen-containing solvent with strong electrophilic maleic acid by quenching DHH.

Catalytic Dehydration of Fructose to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural in Aqueous Medium over Nb2O5-Based Catalysts

The catalytic dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in water was performed in the presence of pristine Nb2O5 and composites containing Nb and Ti, Ce or Zr oxides. In all experiments, fructose was converted to HMF using water as the solvent. The catalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, N2 physical adsorption, infrared and Raman spectroscopy and temperature-programmed desorption of NH3. Experimental parameters such as fructose initial concentration, volume of the reacting suspension, operation temperature, reaction time and amount of catalyst were tuned in order to optimize the catalytic reaction process. The highest selectivity to HMF was ca. 80% in the presence of 0.5 g·L-1 of bare Nb2O5, Nb2O5-TiO2 or Nb2O5-CeO2 with a maximum fructose conversion of ca. 70%. However, the best compromise between high conversion and high selectivity was reached by using 1 g·L-1 of pristine Nb2O5. Indeed, the best result was obtained in the presence of Nb2O5, with a fructose conversion of 76% and a selectivity to HMF of 75%, corresponding to the highest HMF yield (57%). This result was obtained at a temperature of 165° in an autoclave after three hours of reaction by using 6 mL of 1 M fructose suspension with a catalyst amount equal to 1 g·L-1.

Biomass valorization: Sulfated lignin-catalyzed production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose

This study is aimed at the investigation of the preparation of sulfated lignin (SL) as a Bronsted acid catalyst for the preparation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). SL was characterized by different methods including FT-IR, FESEM, XRD, and EDS analyses. It shows promising results after 60 min of reaction at 140 °C, reaching 100% conversion of fructose precursor and 99% yield of 5-HMF, with a fructose: catalyst mass ratio of 10:6.

Co-hydrolysis and Seed-Induced Synthesis of Basic Mesoporous ZSM-5 Zeolites with Enhanced Catalytic Performance

For zeolite catalysts, the regulation of active site and pore structure plays an important role in the enhancement of their catalytic performance. In this work, a one-pot and organic template-free co-regulation route is proposed to straightforwardly synthesize basic mesoporous ZSM-5 zeolites with adjustable alkaline-earth metal species. The synthesis pathway combines two decisive strategies: 1) the seed-induced interface assembly growth method and 2) the acidic co-hydrolysis/condensation of aluminosilicate species and alkaline-earth metal (e.g., Mg, Ca, Sr, or Ba) sources. It is interesting that the mesoporous structure was self-evolved through particle-attached seed-interfacial crystallization without the assistance of any template. Meanwhile, the incorporation of alkaline-earth metals species is homogeneous and highly dispersed in the solid products during the whole crystallization process, and finally generate the superior basicity. Catalysis tests of the as-synthesized samples displayed their novel performance in the typical base reaction of Knoevenagel condensation, even for bulky substrates owing to the enhanced diffusion arising from the meso/microporous network. This finding opens new possibilities for facile, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly synthesis of mesoporous high-silica zeolites with tunable acid/base properties, and deepens our understanding of the particle-attached crystallization.

Promoting Light Hydrocarbons Yield by Catalytic Hydrodechlorination of Residual Chloromethanes Using Palladium Supported on Zeolite Catalysts

Gas catalytic hydrodechlorination (HDC) of trichloromethane (TCM) and dichloromethane (DCM) was analyzed using Pd (1 wt.%) on different zeolites as catalysts. The aim of this study was to know the surface properties of the catalysts and reaction conditions that promote the yield to light hydrocarbons in this reaction. Five different zeolite supports were used from three commercial zeolites (KL, L-type; NaY, Faujasite; H-MOR, Mordenite). KL and NaY were submitted to ionic exchange treatments in order to increase their acidity and analyze the effect of the acidity in the activity and selectivity of the HDC reaction. Exchanged zeolites (HL and HY) showed the highest Pd dispersion due to their higher surface acidity. The best TCM/DCM conversion and selectivity to light hydrocarbons was obtained using the two non-exchanged zeolite-catalysts, KL and NaY. Low surface acidity seems to be the key aspect to promote the formation of light hydrocarbons. The formation of these products is favored at high reaction temperatures and low H2: chloromethane ratios. KL showed the highest selectivity to olefins (60%), although with a lower dechlorination degree. Non-exchanged NaY catalyst showed high selectivity to paraffins (70% and 95% for the HDC of DCM and TCM, respectively).

Efficient production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose over CuAPO-5 molecular sieves synthesized using an ionothermal method

A group of CuAPO-5 molecular sieves with trace Cu were successfully synthesized via an ionothermal method and used for fructose dehydration to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in [BMIM]Br ionic liquid. The 0.06-CuAPO-5 sample displayed excellent performance and a HMF yield of 93.8% was obtained, which could be ascribed to the balance between acid strength and mass transfer efficiency. This work demonstrates that the ionothermal synthesized CuAPO-5 molecular sieve was also a good candidate for the efficient production of HMF.

The high yield of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural was achieved in the dehydration of fructose on the CuAPO-5 catalyst synthesized by the ionothermal method.

Dehydration of fructose, sucrose and inulin to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural over yeast-derived carbonaceous microspheres at low temperatures

This work prepared carbonaceous microspheres by hydrothermal carbonization of yeast cells followed by sulfonation with concentrated sulphuric acid (98%) at room temperature. The obtained carbonaceous product (CM-SO₃H) had a high acid density (1.80 mmol g⁻¹). We evaluated CM-SO₃H as a solid catalyst for the dehydration of fructose-based carbohydrates to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM][Cl]). The effects of the catalyst and substrate loadings as well as the reaction temperature and time on the yield of 5-HMF were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, a 5-HMF yield of up to 83.5% was obtained from fructose with a reaction temperature of 80 °C for 30 min. Furthermore, 44.8% and 59.2% 5-HMF yields were obtained from sucrose (80 °C for 30 min) and inulin (80 °C for 60 min), respectively. CM-SO₃H and [BMIM][Cl] showed high stability and could be recycled between five and eight times without significant loss of catalytic activity. More importantly, the catalytic system could be applied to high substrate concentrations. CM-SO₃H combined with [BMIM][Cl] is a promising system for transforming fructose-based carbohydrates into 5-HMF.

This work prepared carbonaceous microspheres by hydrothermal carbonization of yeast cells followed by sulfonation with concentrated sulphuric acid (98%) at room temperature.

Phosphorus pentoxide/metal chloride mediated efficient and facile catalytic conversion of fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

Phosphorus pentoxide (P₂O₅)/metal chloride mixtures could significantly improve 5-HMF yield and selectivity for the catalytic conversion of fructose under mild conditions, whereas neither P₂O₅ nor tested metal chloride alone gave reasonable performances. A maximum 5-HMF yield of 75% with ∼85% selectivity could be achieved within 30 min at 80 °C.

Phosphorus pentoxide (P₂O₅)/metal chloride could significantly catalyze the efficient and facile conversion of fructose into 5-HMF under mild conditions.

Valorization of an underused sugar derived from hemicellulose: efficient synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from mannose with aluminum salt catalyst in dimethyl sulfoxide/water mixed solvent

Mannose, an underused sugar derived from hemicellulose, can be effectively converted into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) with aluminum chloride catalyst under mild conditions, offering useful reference for the refinery of biomass in the future.