Improved conversion of levoglucosenone into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in a biphasic system

Abstract

Levoglucosenone (LGO), derived from catalytic pyrolysis of cellulose, has shown its potential as a bio-renewable platform for the production of fine and commodity chemical. In this study, we report a biphasic system for conversion of LGO to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and levulinic acid (LA) with a substantial yield. The hydrolysis parameters, including single-biphasic phase, catalyst, temperature, and reaction time, were investigated on LGO conversion, respectively. The results showed that NaCl/H2O-MIBK biphasic system led to a profoundly increase of HMF selectivity by 37% compared to aqueous phase. An increase of acid site significantly enhanced LGO conversion and meanwhile promoted overreaction of HMF to LA and humins. Thus, HMF yield was observed firstly increased and then decreased with a maximum yield of 53.6% by using oxalic acid as a catalyst. The biphasic system effectively suppressed the humins formation and resulted in a maximum total HMF and LA yield of 86.7%.