Biobased Furanics: Kinetic Studies on the Acid Catalyzed Decomposition of 2-Hydroxyacetyl Furan in Water Using Brönsted Acid Catalysts

Biobased furanics like 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) are interesting platform chemicals for the synthesis of biofuel additives and polymer precursors. 5-HMF is typically prepared from C6 ketoses like fructose, psicose, sorbose and tagatose. A known byproduct is 2-hydroxyacetylfuran (2-HAF), particularly when using sorbose and psicose as the reactants. We here report an experimental and kinetic modeling study on the rate of decomposition of 2-HAF in a typical reaction medium for 5-HMF synthesis (water, Brönsted acid), with the incentive to gain insights in the stability of 2-HAF. A total of 12 experiments were performed (batch setup) in water with sulfuric acid as the catalyst (100-170 °C, C_H ranging between 0.033 and 1.37 M and an initial 2-HAF concentration between 0.04 and 0.26 M). Analysis of the reaction mixtures showed a multitude of products, of which levulinic acid (LA) and formic acid (FA) were the most prominent (Y_max,FA = 24 mol %, Y_max,LA = 10 mol %) when using HCl. In contrast, both LA and FA were formed in minor amounts when using H₂SO₄ as the catalyst. The decomposition reaction of 2-HAF using sulfuric acid was successfully modeled (R² = 0.9957) using a first-order approach in 2-HAF and acid. The activation energy was found to be 98.7 (±2.2) kJ mol^-1.