Influence of a Lewis acid and a Bronsted acid on the conversion of microcrystalline cellulose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in a single-phase reaction system of water and 1,2-dimethoxyethane

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a typical dehydration product of C6 carbohydrates, and it can be converted into a series of chemicals and liquid fuels. In this study, an advanced low-boiling single-phase reaction system consisting of water and 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DMOE) was proposed for the production of HMF from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). AlCl3 and H3PO4 were selected as the Lewis acidic catalyst and Bronsted acidic catalyst, respectively, and the influence of these two catalysts on the conversion behavior of MCC was studied. The results showed that MCC could be selectively converted into HMF or levulinic acid (LA) by altering the solvent composition. As for the composition of the catalyst, high AlCl3 content favored the generation of HMF, whereas high H3PO4 content could decrease the HMF yield and promote the formation of glucose and fructose. The highest HMF yield of 49.42% was obtained at an AlCl3-H3PO4 ratio of 1 : 0.8. GC-MS analysis suggested that much MCC was transformed into furans and cyclopentenones in the presence of AlCl3, while anhydrosugars tended to be generated with a high H3PO4 proportion in the catalyst. Besides, FTIR analysis of the insoluble humin formed during MCC conversion indicated that AlCl3 could also facilitate the depolymerization of MCC.