Executive Summary : | The global demand for clean and renewable energy and chemicals is increasing due to the decline in availability of fossil resources, global warming, and uneven distribution. Our research group has successfully produced platform chemicals and value-added chemicals with high yields, including 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), which is used in the production of polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a potential replacement for petroleum-based PET. However, the synthesis of FDCA is a bottleneck in the overall process. Technological challenges such as solvent selection, low activity, side product formation, and separation of FDCA need to be addressed before the overall process can be made more economical. This project aims to develop a process for converting carbohydrates and HMF into FDCA using supported bimetallic catalysts in a base-free solvent system. Non-noble bimetallic catalysts will be used with zeolite and activated carbon as support. Solvents such as methanol, 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF), tetrahydrofuran (THF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), water, or their mixtures will be explored. The methanol or its mixture with other solvents form the methylfurandicarboxilate (MFDC), which is also a useful monomer for the production of PEF. Various strategies will be studied for their effectiveness to improve the overall process. Three options will be explored: (1) a highly selective oxidation catalyst to selectively oxidize the HMF in presence of carbohydrate; (2) a bifunctional catalyst with higher dehydration rate than the oxidation rate of carbohydrate; and (3) a biphasic reaction system with dehydration taking place in the aqueous phase and oxidation in the organic phase. |