Kinetics of Non-catalyzed Decomposition of Glucose in High-temperature Liquid Water

The decomposition kinetics of glucose was studied in high-temperature liquid water (HTLW) from 180 to 220°C under a pressure of 10 MPa. It was found the main products from glucose decomposition were 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) and levulinic acid (LA). The decomposition kinetics of 5-HMF and stability of LA in HTLW were further investigated. A kinetic model for glucose decomposition was proposed accordingly. In the model, a series of first-order reactions with the consideration of parallel by-reactions were used to illustrate the decomposition of glucose. The decomposition activation energies of glucose, 5-HMF, and LA were evaluated as 118.85, 95.40, and 31.29 kJ·mol−1, respectively.