Semisynthetic production of hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural: The benefits of an integrated approach

• Published in: Journal of environmental chemical engineering 2022-10, Vol.10 (5), p.108515, Article 108515
• Main Authors: Nzediegwu, Emmanuel, Pérez-Venegas, Mario, Auclair, Karine, Dumont, Marie-Josée
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cellulase; Furfural; Hydroxymethylfurfural; Kinetic model; Mechanoenzymatic; Newsprint
• ISSN: 2213-3437; 2213-3437
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2022.108515

In this study, an integrated mechanoenzymatic/catalytic approach was employed to produce furan-based platform chemicals from newsprint wastes. The holocellulose fraction of the newsprint was first hydrolyzed to monosaccharides using a commercial cellulases blend at 55 °C (enzyme loading of 45 mg/g of substrate or 4.5% w/w). Working with moist-solid enzymatic reaction with a short period (15 min) of ball milling followed by 24 h of static incubation greatly enhanced hydrolysis, affording glucose and xylose yields of 52 mol% and 22 mol%, respectively. The sugars in the hydrolysate were next dehydrated using AlCl3.6H2O (200 mg) as an eco-friendly catalyst. With stirring at 600 rpm and 150 °C, hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural were obtained in yields of 66 mol% and 67 mol%, respectively. Another aspect was the first-order kinetic model with two consecutive reactions which was sufficient to predict the decomposition of sugars (glucose and xylose) into hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural, respectively. [Display omitted] •Mechanoenzymology was used to convert newsprint wastes into glucose and xylose.•Enzymatic reactions in moist-solid were better than in dilute aqueous solution.•Glucose and xylose afforded HMF and FU yields of 66 mol% and 67 mol%, respectively.