Conversion of fructose and inulin to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in sustainable betaine hydrochloride-based media

We show here that betaine hydrochloride (BHC), a co-product of the carbohydrate industry, can be used for the design of cheap and safe media capable of promoting the dehydration of fructose and inulin to HMF. In particular, in these BHC-based media, HMF was obtained with up to 84% yield, thus offering a competitive route to the traditional imidazolium-based ionic liquids.