Hydrogenation of glucose and fructose into hexitols over heterogeneous catalysts: A review

Biomass-derived sugars are a promising source of high-value chemicals because of their low cost, availability, and renewability. Catalytic hydrogenation of fructose and glucose into hexitols, including sorbitol and mannitol is of great industrial importance due to hexitols application in the food, medical, chemical, and petroleum industries. For this purpose, heterogeneous catalysts are preferred owing to their high efficiency, easy separation, and reusability. In this review article, the hydrogenation performance of both sugars into hexitols was discussed and analyzed under various reaction conditions. The catalyst stability and hydrogenation kinetics are also reviewed. Moreover, important challenges and promising routes are suggested for the future development of the heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of sugars to hexitols. (C) 2018 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.