Experiments and Kinetic Modeling of Fructose Dehydration to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural with Hydrochloric Acid in Acetone–Water Solvent

This work presents experimental and kinetic modeling studies on fructose dehydration to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in the solution of mixed acetone and water, catalyzed by hydrochloric acid (HCl). A reaction scheme that added an intermediate was proposed. A corresponding kinetic model that considered the parameters, including temperature (383–423 K), initial substrate concentration (10–100 g/L), and catalyst concentration (5–60 mmol/L), was established, and the influence of solvent ratio (3–19) was also studied. The maximum yield was 91% in the ideal plug flow reactor under the optimized condition (T = 383 K, CF0 = 10 g/L, CHCl = 10 mmol/L). The model can well support the delicate reactor design since an industrially accessible HMF production process was proposed in this work.