In the future chemical infrastructure 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), formed by dehydration of hexose carbohydrates, is considered to be one of the most important platform molecules. The dehydration of fructose in ionic liquids is facile and does not require added catalyst, whereas the more economically preferred direct dehydration of glucose to HMF requires a Lewis acidic catalyst to provide acceptable yield. A combination of chromium chloride complexes and chloride-based ionic liquids has in particular demonstrated to provide active catalytic systems for the later conversion. In the present study, a techno-economic assessment has been performed for an industrial chromium complex catalyzed process for production of HMF from glucose. The results are highly encouraging and indicate that implementation of ionic liquid technology could render such a process viable and competitive to aqueous systems, provided that the catalyst system can be reused efficiently. A possible metal-free replacement for chromium as catalytically active component in the direct dehydration of glucose to HMF is also proposed.

Catalytic conversion of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in ionic liquids: A techno-economic process assessment

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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