Insights into the Kinetics and Reaction Network of Aluminum Chloride-Catalyzed Conversion of Glucose in NaCl–H2O/THF Biphasic System

We performed a systematic experimental kinetics study on AlCl3-catalyzed conversion of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in NaCl–H2O/tetrahydrofuran (THF) biphasic solvent. The kinetics model covers an extensive reaction network including the parallel and tandem reactions of isomerization, dehydration, decomposition, and polymerization from glucose. The accuracy of the model was verified by a parity plot and statistical significance analysis of the kinetic parameters. A deliberate insight into the intrinsic kinetic properties (reaction rate constant and apparent activation energy) of each subreaction elaborates the regulatory role of THF and NaCl on reaction pathways within the network. That is, THF suppresses the rehydration, degradation, and polymerization of HMF to unwanted byproducts, inhibits fructose-to-HMF dehydration and fructose-to-humins polymerization, but promotes the generation of formic acid (FA) from the direct degradation of both glucose and fructose by facilitating the generation o...