Abstract
A facile and highly efficient method for converting seaweed-derived agarose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in aqueous media using combined metal salts as catalysts is proposed. A series of combined metal salts were investigated under different conditions. The combination of ZrCl4 and KHSO4 was the most efficient catalyst; it was capable of achieving a high HMF yield of 71.4% under optimized conditions. The charge density or counter anion possibly affected the ionization degree of the metal cations in the aqueous solution, thereby influencing the HMF yield. ZrCl4 promoted the cleavage of the C–O–C bond in agarose and galactose to ketose isomerization, which is the key step for HMF formation. KHSO4 increased the conversion rate of ketose to HMF. This work offers a convenient method for converting seaweed-derived agarose to HMF and improve the utilization of marine biomass.
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