Thermal Cracking of Sugars for the Production of Glycolaldehyde and Other Small Oxygenates
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 1, 2026

Laboratory Production of Biofuels and Biochemicals from a Rapeseed Oil through Catalytic Cracking Conversion
Published on: September 2, 2016
Christian B Schandel1, Martin Høj1, Christian M Osmundsen2
1Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Søltofts plads, 2800 Kgs., Lyngby, Denmark.
Abstract:
Thermal cracking of sugars for production of glycolaldehyde, a potential renewable platform molecule, in yields up to 74 % with up to 95 % carbon recovered in the condensed product is demonstrated using glucose as the feed. The process involves spraying an aqueous sugar solution into a fluidized bed of glass beads. Continuous operation is carried out for more than 90 h with complete conversion and stable product selectivity. Besides glycolaldehyde, the other identified condensed products are pyruvaldehyde (9 %), formaldehyde (7 %), glyoxal (2 %), acetol (2 %), and acetic acid (1 %). The effects of temperature, glucose feed concentration, and type of sugar feedstock are investigated. Cracking the monosaccharides fructose and xylose leads to very different product distributions from glucose, but similar carbon recovery. A reaction network in agreement with the main observed products from cracking of monosaccharide sugars is proposed.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
What is Glycolysis?
Cells make energy by breaking down macromolecules. Cellular respiration is the biochemical process that converts "food energy" (from the chemical bonds of macromolecules) into chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The first step of this tightly regulated and intricate process is glycolysis. The word glycolysis originates from the Latin glyco (sugar) and lysis (breakdown). Glycolysis serves two main intracellular functions: generating ATP and generating...
Energy-requiring Steps of Glycolysis
Glycolysis: Preparatory Phase
Outcomes of Glycolysis
Cellular respiration can occur aerobically (with oxygen) or anaerobically (without oxygen). In the presence of oxygen, cellular respiration starts with glycolysis and continues with pyruvate...
Preparation of Alcohols via Addition Reactions
The acid-catalyzed addition of water to the double bond of alkenes is a large-scale industrial method used to synthesize low-molecular-weight alcohols. An acidic atmosphere is required to allow the hydrogen in the water molecule to act as an electrophile and attack the double bond in an alkene. The addition of a proton to the double bond creates a carbocation intermediate. The proton preferentially bonds to the less substituted end of the double bond to create a more stable carbocation...
Oxidations of Aldehydes and Ketones to Carboxylic Acids
Aldehydes readily undergo oxidation in strong oxidizing agents such as potassium permanganate and chromic acid. The oxidation can also be carried out using mild oxidizing agents such as silver oxide. In fact, aldehydes can be easily oxidized...

