Process Intensification and Reaction Kinetics for Synthesis of 5‐Hydroxymethyl Furfural Using DICAT‐1 Solid Acid Catalyst in a Batch Reactor

Abstract 5‐HMF is a potential platform multifaceted molecule for various industrial applications and can be produced from biomass‐based hexose sugars. In the present study, the indigenously prepared catalyst DIC A T‐1 (an acronym derived from DBT‐ICT Center for Energy Biosciences Catalyst #1) has been explored for fructose dehydration, using isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as a green and low boiling point (LBP) organic solvent. The exploration of heterogeneous DIC A T‐1 adds specific advantages for 5‐HMF synthesis in terms of high yield, conversion, selectivity, catalyst separation, recycle, reuse, and so forth. Different variants of DIC A T‐1, such as DIC A T‐1A, DIC A T‐1B, DIC A T‐1C, and DIC A T‐1D, having variable surface acidity were tested for fructose dehydration in the presence of IPA. Of the tested variants, DIC A T‐1C provides good yield and selectivity of 5‐HMF. Thus, further process optimization study was conducted to obtain maximum yield, conversion, and selectivity using DIC A T‐1C. The intensified process provides maximum 78% yield of 5‐HMF with 83% fructose conversion and 94% selectivity. The catalyst recyclability study showed the consistency in 5‐HMF yield, conversion, and selectivity for five consecutive recycle runs. The study of reaction kinetics showed the first‐order kinetics with an activation energy of 13.16 kJ/mole by using DIC A T‐1C catalyst. Thus, the use of easily recyclable and robust catalyst provides an efficient route for production of 5‐HMF in presence of green solvent.