Abstract
Different carbonaceous materials were tested as mass-transfer promoters for increasing the yield of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in biphasic cellulose hydrolysis. The benefits of working with a biphasic system (water/methyl isobutyl ketone) under soft acid conditions were taken as starting point (no humins or levulinic acid production), with slow extraction kinetics as the weakest point of this approach. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and activated carbon (AC) were proposed to improve 5-HMF liquid-liquid mass transfer. A kinetic analysis of the extraction process indicated the competition between 5-HMF and glucose adsorption as the main cause of the poor results obtained with AC. In contrast, very promising results were obtained with CNTs, mainly at 1.5 wt % loading, with complete transfer of HMF and a high global mass-transfer coefficient. The use of CNTs improved the amount of 5-HMF in the organic phase by more than 270 %.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
