Acid-Catalyzed Dehydration of Fructose and Inulin with Glycerol or Glycerol Carbonate as Renewably Sourced Co-Solvent

Ionic liquids (ILs) can be partially substituted by glycerol or glycerol carbonate as cheap safe, and renewably sourced co solvents in the acid-catalyzed dehydration of fructose and inulin to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) In the particular case of glycerol, we found that HMF can be conveniently extracted from the IL/glycerol (65 35) mixture with methylisobutylketone limiting the reactivity of glycerol with HMF and allowing the recovery of HMF with a high purity (95%) Influences of the fructose content, temperature and the nature of the ionic liquid are also discussed The possible use of industrial-grade glycerin is also investigated We demonstrate that by using glycerol carbonate up to 90 wt% of the IL can be successfully substituted, decreasing the environmental costs of traditional IL-based processes