Kinetic Study of Glucose Conversion to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and Levulinic Acid Catalyzed by Sulfuric Acid

5-HMF(5-Hydroxymethylfurfural) and LA(levulinic acid) derived from biomass are green platform chemicals, which have a wide of potential applications as biofules and biochemicals. In this study, the kinetics of LA formation from glucose decomposition with various concentration of sulfuric acid at different temperature was investigated. The experiments were performed in a broad temperature (140-200 degrees C), using H2SO4 (1-3 wt%) as the catalyst. Glucose solution was made by dissolving 1 g of glucose in 10 ml of H2SO4 solution. The reactions rates increased with temperature and the activation energy showed a similar tendency to previous reported values. Reaction time for maximum concentration of 5-HMF decreased as the temperature increased. Furthermore, the decomposition of 5-HMF was fast as the acid concentration increased. Reaction time to reach maximum concentration of levulinic acid was reduced as the acid concentration increased. Continuing to raise the temperature decreased the maximum concentration of levulinic acid and increased the amount of humins. On the basis of results, kinetic parameters help to understand mechanism of LA and 5-HMF. In addition, this study provides useful information to achieve high concentration of LA and 5-HMF from biomass.