Direct Synthesis of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from Cellulose using Saturated Steam

Abstract

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a compound that can be synthesized from cellulose, has attracted significant attention because it can be converted into various chemical products. Although various methods for the direct conversion of cellulose to HMF using special solvents and catalysts have been reported, they are not desirable in terms of green sustainable chemistry and manufacturing costs. Herein, we report the direct conversion of cellulose to HMF using saturated steam, i.e., water, as an environment-friendly method. We investigated the effects of the molecular weight of cellulose and amount of added water on the yields of glucose and HMF using a batch system. Glucose and HMF yields were improved by using low-molecular-weight cellulose as the raw material and the amount of added water was important for maximizing the HMF yield. The balance of hydrolysis and dehydration was controlled by optimizing the amount of added water, with a maximized HMF yields of 21%. This study demonstrates that saturated steam has great potential to be applied for the direct conversion of cellulose to HMF.