Adsorption kinetics of DowexTM OptiporeTM L493 for the removal of the furan 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from sugar

BACKGROUND: Recently much research has been focused on the production and refinery of biobased fuels. The production of biofuels derived from lignocellulosic biomass is recognized as a promising route to produce biobased fuels responsibly. Often, product streams (e.g. glucose) still contain small amounts of undesired components (e.g. furans such as HMF). This study focuses on the removal of furans produced during the fermentation. In earlier work, styrene based resins have been identified as promising materials for this separation. In this work the kinetic properties of the most promising resin: Dowex(TM) Optipore(TM) L493 are studied. RESULTS: The diffusion coefficient of 5 mg L-1 HMF was similar to 8 x 10(-12) m(2) s(-1) in water and 3.0 x 10(-12) m(2) s(-1) in a glucose solution. The reduced diffusion coefficient in the particle when glucose is present is caused by the higher viscosity of the glucose solution and it indicates that diffusion is controlled by surface and pore diffusion. The breakthrough curves of HMF on Optipore showed that the column is very efficient under conditions of interest. CONCLUSION: This study shows that Optipore is a much more efficient resin for HMF removal than currently used resins. Its fast kinetics and capacity make it possible to efficiently remove HMF from glucose solutions. (c) 2015 Society of Chemical Industry