Production of HMF from glucose using an Al3+-promoted acidic phenol-formaldehyde resin catalyst

An Al3+-modified formaldehyde-p-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid resin catalyst (Al-SPFR) was synthesized through a hydrothermal method. N-2 adsorption-desorption experiment and acid-base titration revealed that the Al-SPFR catalyst had better texture properties and higher strong acid content than the previously prepared unmodified SPFR. The effects of reaction time and temperature, catalyst loading, and water content in water/GVL mixture were investigated for glucose dehydration using Al-SPFR as the catalyst. An HMF yield of 47.4% was obtained at 170 degrees C for 2 h in the biphasic GVL/H2O medium. Further performing a five-cycle experiment, the HMF yield initially decreased and then remained fairly constant, and the recyclability of the Al-SPFR was reasonable