Hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural into 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan over mesoporous Cu–Al2O3 catalyst: From batch to continuous processing

• Published in: Journal of industrial and engineering chemistry (Seoul, Korea) 2021, 102(0), , pp.186-194
• Main Authors: Kim, Jinsung, Bathula, Hari Babu, Yun, Seokwon, Jo, Yeongin, Lee, Soohyeon, Baik, Joon Hyun, Suh, Young-Woong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 5-hydroxymethylfurfural; Continuous process; Copper; Hydrogenation; Solvent-deficient precipitation; 화학공학
• ISSN: 1226-086X; 1876-794X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2021.06.039

[Display omitted] •Mesoporous Cu–Al2O3 (meso-CuA) is prepared by solvent-deficient precipitation.•Meso-CuA is superior to other Cu catalysts in the hydrogenation of HMF to BHMF.•Durability of meso-CuA is confirmed by continuous hydrogenation experiments.•Water impurity can have a considerable effect on catalytic performance of meso-CuA.•A process scheme was proposed for BHMF production at a scale of 100 kg per day. Biomass-derived monomers have received growing attention from sustainable polymer industry. Particularly, diol compounds can be formed from furfural (FAL) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Herein, the mesoporous Cu–Al2O3 catalyst (meso-CuA) prepared by solvent-deficient precipitation was evaluated to be efficient in selective hydrogenation of FAL and HMF to furfuryl alcohol to 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF), respectively, at temperatures of lower than 100 °C and high H2 pressures. Owing to unique pore structure and small-sized copper nanoparticles entangled with alumina, meso-CuA turned out to be superior to other supported Cu catalysts in the hydrogenation of HMF to BHMF. Moreover, meso-CuA showed highly durable performance at the BHMF yield of higher than 90% at 100 °C, 50 bar H2, and weight hourly space velocity of 0.2 h−1 over time-on-stream of 100 h. The stability was also confirmed with the HMF feed containing 1 wt% of water that proved to have more considerable effect than other possible impurities. Centering around a catalytic reactor packed with meso-CuA, a process scheme from HMF feed to pure BHMF solid was developed at a production scale of 100 kg per day. The present results can contribute to designing commercial process of BHMF production from HMF and further, real biomass.