Formic acid, from sucrose

In the a approach by Mombarg et a/.,[59] oxidation of disaccharides, such as trehalose and sucrose (25 mmol), was performed in 25 ml of water at 70 °C, with 100 mg of Ti-MCM-41 (7.2 pmol of Ti) and 25 g of 35 wt% H2O2, at pH = 4. After 20 h of reaction, a deep oxidation is observed leading to C1-C4 mono- and dicarboxylic acids, formic acid, glycolic acid, tartronic acid and tartaric acid. The absence of selectivity is then a major drawback compared with other oxidation processes, but another drawback was identified with Ti leaching from the molecular sieve framework. 

Formic acid, cellulose ester, I, 310 from inositol oxidation, III, 52 labelled with C1, III, 237 labelled with isotopic C, III, 231, 232 starch ester, I, 300 from sucrose, IV, 309 Formose, IV, 27... 

The acid-catalyzed inversion of sucrose can be monitored by measuring the angle of rotation a of plane-polarized light with time, since the rotation shifts from dextro in sucrose to levo in invert sugar. The following data were obtained on sucrose inversion at 30°C in 2.5 M formic acid. 

In water, the first ionization of sulfuric acid is complete, but HSO4 is a weak acid with pAa =1-92. As a dehydrating agent, sulfuric acid is able to extract water from a variety of compounds, including sucrose, C12H22O11, and formic acid, HCOOH. 

Mortierella isabellina could grow on both C5 (arabinose, ribose, xylose, and mannose) and disaccharides (sucrose and cellobiose). When grown in the presence of model lignocellulosic inhibitor compounds, phenolic compounds were highly inhibitory, while furfural, 5-HMF, acetic acid, formic acid, and levulinic acid showed limited inhibition. Surprisingly acetic and formic acid improved lipid production by twofold as compared with that observed for the control. When grown on wheat straw, hydrolysate up to 53 % total lipids was obtained with a lipid yield of 16.8 % from the carbon sources (Zeng et al. 2013). 

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