Hydroxymethylfurfural intermediate chemicals from

Heterogeneous catalysts, particularly zeolites, have been found suitable for performing transformations of biomass carbohydrates for the production of fine and specialty chemicals.123 From these catalytic routes, the hydrolysis of abundant biomass saccharides, such as cellulose or sucrose, is of particular interest. The latter disaccharide constitutes one of the main renewable raw materials employed for the production of biobased products, notably food additives and pharmaceuticals.124 Hydrolysis of sucrose leads to a 1 1 mixture of glucose and fructose, termed invert sugar and, depending on the reaction conditions, the subsequent formation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) as a by-product resulting from dehydration of fructose. HMF is a versatile intermediate used in industry, and can be derivatized to yield a number of polymerizable furanoid monomers. In particular, HMF has been used in the manufacture of special phenolic resins.125... 

Catalytic dehydration of hexose polysaccharides to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a highly valuable reaction. Indeed, from HMF, new generations of biofuel (e.g., dimethylfurane) and a wide range of intermediates and fine chemicals can be obtained [55-59]. Comprehensive reviews related to the utilization of HMF can be found in the literature [60-64] see also Chap, by M. Moser. 

Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a promising intermediate for chemical production [140], can be produced from glucose (Scheme 1) and fructose by dehydration. Conversion of fructose to HMF using l-H-3-methylimidazolium chloride as both catalyst and solvent was reported to result in 92% yield after only 45 min [141], The conversion of the more abundant substrate, glucose, often results in poor selectivity, but it was successfully converted with 70% yield using a chromium(II) chloride catalyst in [C2mim][Cl] [142, 143], The patented method includes monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides as substrates [143],... 

Liquid phase catalytic processing is a promising biorefinery process that produces functionalized hydrocarbons from biomass-derived intermediates (e.g., intermediate hydroxymethylfurfural or HMF). Renewable furan derivatives can be used as substitute building blocks for fossil fuels, plastics, and fine chemicals, ° or to develop biofuels based on C5 and C6 carbohydrates (sugars, hemicellulose, cellulose). Currently, Avantium Chemicals in the Netherlands is developing chemical catalytic routes to generate furanics for renewable polymers, bulk and specialty chemicals, and biofuels. ... 

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