Abstract
Furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) are important platform chemicals in biorefinery. Reduction of furfural or HMF with H2 over heterogeneous catalysts is the simplest way to convert the oxygen-rich compounds. However, the process can involve many types of reactions such as hydrogenation of the C=O bond, hydrogenation of the furan ring, C-O hydrogenolysis, rearrangement, C-C dissociation, and polymerization. Hydrogenation reactions are most studied in line with hydrogenations of other α,β-unsaturated aldehydes, and it becomes possible to produce each product selectively: furfuryl alcohol, tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol, 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan, or 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran. Total reduction of side substituents to give 2-methylfuran or 2,5-dimethylfuran is another well-known reaction. Rearrangement and C-O hydrogenolysis reactions have been recently investigated, and they can give useful products such as cyclopentanone, 1,5-pentanediol, and 1,6-hexanediol. Ongoing studies of the reaction mechanisms are also reviewed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2655-2668 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | ACS Catalysis |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2013 Dec 6 |
Keywords
- biorefinery
- catalyst modification
- hydrogenation
- hydrogenolysis
- noble metal
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Catalysis
- Chemistry(all)