Enhanced HMF yield from glucose with H-ZSM-5 catalyst in water-tetrahydrofuran/2-butanol/2-methyltetrahydrofuran biphasic systems

With the aim of achieving a high 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) yield from glucose with H-ZSM-5 catalyst at low cost, three inexpensive biphasic reaction systems, H 2 O—tetrahydrofuran (THF), H 2 O—2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF) and H 2 O’2-butanol, were discovered and proved to be particularly effective in promoting the formation of HMF from glucose over H-ZSM-5 zeolite. In order to determine the optimal process conditions, the effects of various experimental variables, such as reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst dosage, volume of organic solvent, as well as inorganic salt type on glucose conversion to HMF in three systems were investigated in detail. It was found that under optimal reaction conditions, H 2 O—THF, H 2 O—2-butanol and H 2 O—MeTHF allowed the glucose dehydration process to achieve HMF yields of up to 61%, 59%, and 50%, respectively. Moreover, in the three biphasic systems, the H-ZSM-5 catalyst was also demonstrated to maintain excellent stability. Thus, the catalytic approach proposed in this paper can be believed to have potential prospects for industrially efficient and low-cost production of HMF.