Efficient catalytic dehydration of fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural by carbon dioxide

To enhance the selective fructose dehydration to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), an efficient dehydration of fructose to 5-HMF in H2O-MIBK- pressured CO2 in 20 min at 200 °C with a better product yield of 85.6% and 89.1% product selectivity was achieved. The high activity attributed to the combination of the weak acidity by CO2 dissolved in the water and the efficient separation of fructose with 5-HMF in this H2O-MIBK two-phase system. The possible reaction mechanism is discussed. It was found that the solvents ratio was the one of key factors determining the yield of target products. Compared to the related reported results in the reaction, this process characterized of more favorable product yield and higher selectivity, it can be considered as a potential technique for the scale-up production of 5-HMF from fructose.