Role of reaction adsorption on the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose under microwave hydrothermal process

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) has been considered a valuable biomass-derived platform chemical that can be produced by hexose dehydration in the presence of an acid. However, the yield of HMF is always reduced because of side reactions such as rehydration and condensation. In this work, the reactive adsorption process of fructose dehydration to HMF catalyzed by hydrochloric acid under microwave condition was studied. BP2000 has better adsorption capacity than activated carbon (AC) in reactive adsorption, and addition of BP2000 increases the HMF yield. The maximum theoretical yield of HMF was 65 % obtained by adding 39 g L −1 BP2000 and reacting for 4 min at 160 °C under a microwave hydrothermal condition. It was discovered that   microwave hydrothermal technology (MHT) could significantly increase efficiency and reduce reaction time. Reactive adsorption could efficiently buffer HMF from side reactions when reaction conditions became severe, thereby increasing the HMF yield. Reactive adsorption provides a more sustainable method for HMF production and separation.