Continuous synthesis of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural from biomass in on‐farm biorefinery

Abstract

5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is the object of extensive research in recent times. The challenge in the industrial production of HMF is the choice of cheap, hexose feedstock. This study compares continuous HMF synthesis from hexoses—fructose and glucose, and biomass—Miscanthus × giganteus and chicory roots. The experiments were conducted in technical‐scale biorefinery (TRL 6/7). In the first stage, optimal conditions for the production of HMF from hexoses were selected using sulfuric acid as a catalyst in an aqueous medium. The following conditions were chosen for fructose: temperature of 200°C, the reaction time of 18 min, and pH = 2, and for glucose: 210°C, 18 min, and pH = 3. Under these conditions, the HMF yield was 56.5 mol% (39.6 wt.%) from fructose and 18.1 mol% (12.6 wt.%) from glucose. From the biomass, the HMF yields were 36.7 and 16.2 wt.% for miscanthus and chicory roots, respectively. Some results from the conversion of biomass solutions are unexpected and show a need for further investigations. This work has demonstrated the capacity to produce HMF from biomass as part of an environmentally friendly process in a biorefinery. Further research in this field and process optimization will be a step forward in the sustainable production of bioplastics.

ComparativeLCAstudies of simulatedHMFbiorefineries from maize and miscanthus as an example of first‐ and second‐generation biomass as a tool for process development

“…This results in lower HMF yields from cellulose and other glucose‐based biomasses in the literature compared to fructose‐based biomasses. Świątek et al (2022) report HMF yields from miscanthus biomass of 19.8 wt.%. Her experiments with fructose show HMF yields of up to 39.6 wt.%.…”

“…The raw data on the production process were received from small pilot plant trials at TRL 5–6 with a scale of 2 kg FM miscanthus per hour in the biorefinery pilot plant at the Agricultural Research Station Lindenhöfe of the University of Hohenheim and have partly been published (cf. Świątek et al, 2022). At this stage of development, all unit operations have already been identified and transferred to apparatuses.…”

“…HMF is obtained from fructose via dehydration, whereas lignocellulose contains cellulose and thus polyglucans. This leads to a lower HMF yield compared to fructose as feedstock (Steinbach et al, 2018; Świątek et al, 2022; Tan‐Soetedjo et al, 2017).…”

Valorisation of marginal agricultural land in the bioeconomy

“…Świątek et al. (2022) demonstrated and assessed all steps required for the production of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) using miscanthus biomass and chicory roots to replace industrially applied hexose sugars. The paper presents the technical potential of utilizing biomass, including lignocellulosic biomass such as miscanthus, as a feedstock for HMF production in an environmentally friendly biorefinery process.…”

Mono-Digestion of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Process-Wastewater in Continuously Operated Anaerobic Filters: A Cascade Utilization Approach

“…Synthesis of 5-HMF from lignocellulosic feedstocks in a biorefinery has been described earlier [10][11][12]. A significant drawback associated with processing such a platform in biorefineries is the substantial volume of process-wastewater or the aqueous material produced, often containing high concentrations of pollutants [13].…”