CONVERSION OF CARBOHYDRATES TO HYDROXY-METHYLFURFURAL (HMF) AND DERIVATIVES

摘要

A method of producing substantially pure HMF, HMF esters and other derivatives from a carbohydrate source by contacting the carbohydrate source with a solid phase catalyst. A carbohydrate starting material is heated in a solvent in a column and continuously flowed through a solid phase catalyst in the presence of an organic acid, or heated with the organic acid and a solid catalyst in solution to form a HMF ester. Heating without organic acid forms HMF. The resulting product is purified by filtration to remove the unreacted starting materials and catalyst. The HMF ester or a mixture of HMF and HMF ester may then be oxidized to 2,5- furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) by combining the HMF ester with an organic acid, cobalt acetate, manganese acetate and sodium bromide under pressure. Alternatively, the HMF ester may be reduced to form a furan or tetrahydrofuran diol.