Dehydration of carbohydrates to 2-furaldehydes in ionic liquids by catalysis with ion exchange resins

The dehydration of several sugars, including pentoses, hexoses, di, tri, and polysaccharides, in ionic liquids with acidic ion-exchange resins as heterogeneous catalysts was investigated. Good 2‐furaldehydes recovery yields, reaching 92% in some cases, were achieved when Dowex® 50W ion‐exchange resins and 1‐n‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl) were used. Our results show that this aproach could represent a promising route towards the cost-efficient production of 2-furaldehydes from carbohydrate-based feedstocks.

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► Sugar dehydration to 2-furaldehydes by heterogeneous catalysts in ionic liquids.
► Dowex® ion-exchange resins in [C4mim]Cl showed the highest dehydration yields.
► Variations of time, temperature, and catalyst were tested for process optimization.
► Mono, di, tri, and polysaccharides were assayed with good dehydration yields.
► Among pentoses, ribose showed the highest furfural yield.