Conversion of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural using solution plasma process

5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a key building block chemical derived from renewable lignocellulosic biomass, is used to produce a variety of derivatives for the biorefinery industry. In this work, the solution plasma process (SPP) was first applied to convert fructose, a key component from biomass, into HMF. Various conditions that affect fructose conversion and HMF yield were studied, including plasma treatment time (0-300 min), DMSO concentration (0-70%), electrode types (Iron; Fe and tungsten; W), system temperature (70-90 degrees C) and initial fructose concentration (10 g/L and 25 g/L). SPP was showed to enhance the conversion process to achieve high fructose conversion and HMF yield at the temperature (90 degrees C) lower than other conventional heating processes. The maximum fructose conversion and HMF yield were achieved at 95% and 76%, respectively at the DMSO concentration of 70% with Fe-electrodes, 90 degrees C of system temperature, 10 g/L of initial fructose concentration, 22.5 kHz of pulsed frequency and plasma treatment time of 240 min. Sulfuric acid formed from DMSO dissociation and Fe-nanoparticles from electrode erosion could effectively act as catalysts for the dehydration of fructose to HMF. SPP can be a high-potential tool for enhancing HMF production from the dehydration process in BCG economy.

Automated summary

In this study, the solution plasma process (SPP) was used to convert fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), resulting in high fructose conversion and HMF yield at a lower temperature compared to conventional heating processes.