Selective Liquid Phase Adsorption of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural on Nanoporous Hyper-Cross-Linked Polymers

Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is considered a high potential biogenic platform chemical that can be produced from carbohydrates by hydrothermal or acid-catalyzed dehydration processes. Its separation from polar liquid phase reaction mixtures still remains a challenge on the way to commercialization. Recently, liquid phase adsorption of HMF has been considered a viable and energy efficient method. While conventional adsorbents show competitive adsorption in the reaction mixture, we herein report for the first time the highly selective adsorption of HMF from aqueous solutions on nanoporous hyper-cross-linked polymers (HCP). Excess adsorption isotherms of fructose (F), HMF, and its follow-up products levulinic acid and formic acid were measured under equilibrium conditions, and the data were modeled accordingly. Additionally, the desorption behavior was investigated. Overall, the evaluated HCP as well as similar nonpolar adsorbents exhibit great potential for future process development regarding efficient adsorptive separation technologies for the utilization of renewable feedstock.