Decomposition of cellulose to produce 5-hydroxymethyl-furaldehyde in subcritical water

Abstract

A method for decomposition of cellulose to produce 5-hydroxymethyl-furaldehyde (5-HMF) in subcritical water-carbon dioxide binary system was proposed. A series of experiments were performed in a batch reaction vessel. Main products of the decomposition of cellulose are 5-HMF, furfural, levulinic acid and 1, 2, 4-benzenetriol. The optimum condition for the preparation of 5-HMF was found as 523.15 K, 5.0% carbon dioxide mole fraction, and 30 min reaction time. The addition of carbon dioxide to water conduced to the decomposition of cellulose to 5-HMF. As can be seen from the distribution of the prod-ucts, the decomposition mechanism of cellulose is similar to the hydrothermal reaction of D-glucose and D-fructose.

Keywords

cellulose / 5-hydroxymethyl-furaldehyde / water-carbon dioxide binary system / subcritical water

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