Microwave-assisted Dehydration of Fructose into 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) over Acidic Porous Catalysts

Abstract

Extensive consumption of carbon resources has led to decreasing reserves of fossil fuels and growing concern about global warming. This dilemma has promoted a shift in the economy to develop new long-term, environmentally friendly, and sustainable sources for fuels and chemicals to replace fossil fuel-based sources. Renewable biomass is an ideal alternative, as it is abundant, and relatively cheap. Among current biofuel resources, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is a versatile intermediate between biomass-based carbohydrate chemistry and fossil fuel-based industrial organic chemistry, which can be used to synthesize a broad range of chemicals that are currently derived from fossil fuel-based resources. Carbohydrates became the preferred feedstock for high yield production of 5-HMF, and the most convenient route for the synthesis of 5-HMF is the acid-catalyzed dehydration of hexose. Within this context, a variety of processes were developed for the synthesis of 5-HMF from dehydration of fructose involving various solvents, including water, organic solvents, and biphasic systems. Likewise, a range of catalysts were employed, such as homogeneous acid catalysts and metal chlorides, which showed high catalytic activity. Heterogeneous catalysts have also been receiving attention due to their advantages such as easy recovery and recyclability. In the current research, microwave-assisted synthesis of 5-HMF by dehydration of fructose over various acidic porous catalysts, such as periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO), carbon materials, and metal organic frameworks (MOFs), was investigated. The results showed that the obtained 5-HMF yields were satisfactory, and more importantly highlighted some of the properties of porous heterogeneous catalysts that may improve the production of 5-HMF.