Biphasic catalytic conversion of fructose by continuous hydrogenation of HMF over a hydrophobic ruthenium catalyst
Yanliang Yang1, Zhongtian Du, Jiping Ma
1Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023 (PR China), Fax: (+86) 411-84379245; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039 (PR China).
Abstract:
The production of chemicals directly from sugars is an important step in biomass conversion. Herein, tetrahydro-2,5-furandimethanol (THFDM), obtained from fructose, is formed by using a combination of acid and hydrophobic Ru/SiO2 in a water/cyclohexane biphasic system. Two key factors enable the high selectivity towards THFDM: modifying the hydrogenation catalyst so that it has hydrophobic properties, and the continuous hydrogenation of generated 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural in the cyclohexane phase. Moreover, the selectivity towards THFDM is found to depend strongly on the acid catalyst used.
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