Efficient Etherification of 2,5‐Bis(hydroxymethyl)furan to 2,5‐Bis(propoxymethyl)furan by an Amorphous Silica‐Alumina Catalyst in a Fixed‐Bed Reactor

Abstract

The efficient etherification of 2,5‐bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) to 2,5‐bis(propoxymethyl)furan (BPMF) was achieved by using low‐cost amorphous silica‐aluminas (ASA) catalysts in a fixed‐bed reactor. A considerable yield of BPMF up to 85.1 % was obtained over ASA‐30 catalyst under the reaction conditions of 140 °C, 2.0 MPa of N2, and 0.015 h−1 of WHSV. The excellent performance of ASA‐30 catalyst could be attributed to the relatively stronger acidity (>375 °C) and larger mesoporous size (6 nm), thereby facilitating the conversion of BHMF to BPMF. In addition, the lower ratio of Brønsted/Lewis acid sites for ASA catalyst was found to efficiently suppress the occurrence of side reactions.

A high-efficiency zirconium-based single-atom catalyst for the transformation of biomass-derived 5 hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan with nearly 100% selectivity

“…[1][2][3] As a typical representative, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is gaining more and more concern and interest of researchers around the world, [4][5][6] and at the same time, its further upgradation is recognized as a very promising strategy to produce high-value derivatives. [7][8][9] In this context, converting HMF to 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) is highly conspicuous [10][11][12] because BHMF is an important furanyl diol with a symmetrical structure, endowing it with wide applications in the synthesis of various bio-based fuels, [13][14][15] polyethers, [16][17][18] polyesters [19][20][21][22] and polyurethanes. [23][24][25][26] However, it is noteworthy that HMF simultaneously contains reducible −CvO, −C−O and −Cv moieties, and when it is hydrogenated, many products can be synthesized.…”