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Catalytic Conversion of Carbohydrates into 5‐Ethoxymethylfurfural by a Magnetic Solid Acid Using γ‐Valerolactone as a Co‐Solvent
Author(s) -
Bai YuanYuan,
Su Shihao,
Wang Shuizhong,
Wang Bo,
Sun RunCang,
Song Guoyong,
Xiao LingPing
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201800090
Subject(s) - catalysis , hydrothermal carbonization , chemistry , solvent , biorefinery , fructose , yield (engineering) , organic chemistry , carbonization , biomass (ecology) , carbon fibers , ethanol , chemical engineering , materials science , raw material , oceanography , engineering , adsorption , composite number , metallurgy , composite material , geology
Selective conversion of carbohydrates to fuels and fine chemicals is of great importance for biorefinery. However, development of efficient solid acidic catalysts which perform stably for this process is still challenging. Herein, we reported a novel carbon‐based solid acidic catalyst, prepared via hydrothermal carbonization of glucose followed by magnetization of Fe 3 O 4 and sulfonation of H 2 SO 4 , which can serve as an efficient and recyclable catalyst in the catalytic dehydration of fructose to 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and subsequent etherification of 5‐ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) with ethanol from various carbohydrates. The effects of reaction conditions (temperature, time, solvents, catalyst amount, and γ‐valerolactone (GVL) concentration) were optimized affording to a maximum EMF yield of 67.4 % at 120 °C, 55 wt % catalyst loading based on starting fructose and 60 vol.% of GVL in ethanol after 24 h of reaction. Noticeably, GVL promotes the formation of EMF and HMF reducing the extent of side reactions. Recycling experiments showed that the catalyst could be easily separated with a magnet and reused up to 4 consecutive times without significant loss of activity. The present work opens a way to synthesize reusable and cost‐effective solid acidic catalysts from biomass wastes and may contribute to a holistic approach for biomass valorization.