Under the same reaction conditions, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF) is formed from pentose.

The reaction uses a multifunctional catalyst system composed of rhodium salt, dihydrogen, and HI/HCl+NaI. The catalytic system is robust and can be recycled repeatedly without loss of activity.

A one-step process generally requires less energy than processes that involve multiple steps, and the use of water as reaction medium is attractive, the authors note. In addition, a variety of feedstocks, including raw lignocellulosic biomass such as corn stover, can be directly used without any chemical pretreatment.

The optimized yields of tetrahydrofuran derivatives from cellulose and corn stover appear to be the highest reported, and the purity of DMTHF from hexose and that of MTHF from pentose are relatively high. Finally, the catalyst system has been shown to be robust and can be recycled repeatedly without loss of activity.

Although the use of an expensive rhodium salt, the potentially corrosive acid, and dihydrogen clearly make the process uneconomical, we do show that in principle it is possible to “devise a simple, one-step or one-pot process that directly converts agricultural and municipal plant waste and other forms of raw biomass to valuable products.” A one-step, high-yield chemical process also compares favorably with typical bioconversions of lignocellulose that require three steps: lignocellulosic pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose, and fermentation of sugars to make ethanol or other bio-based chemicals.

—Yang and Sen

Resources

• Weiran Yang, Ayusman Sen (2010) One-Step Catalytic Transformation of Carbohydrates and Cellulosic Biomass to 2,5-Dimethyltetrahydrofuran for Liquid Fuels. ChemSusChem doi: 10.1002/cssc.200900285