One-Pot Chemobiocatalytic Synthesis of 2,5-Bis(hydroxymethyl)furan from Sucrose Using a Heterogeneous Zirconium-Based Catalyst and Strain Pseudomonas yamanorum

2,5-Bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) is a valuable platform compound whose industrial production is limited by the high cost of its conventional substrate, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). In this study, we developed a one-pot chemobiocatalytic approach for the valorization of sucrose into BHMF by integrating a heterogeneous zirconium-based catalyst with a newly isolated BHMF-producing strain. A bifunctional catalyst, γ-Al2O3@APTMS-Zr, was synthesized by immobilizing Zr(IV) on alumina nanofibers grafted with ethylenediamine group. This catalyst exhibited balanced Lewis and Brønsted acidity, enabling efficient conversion of sucrose to HMF with a yield of 84.3% in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Meanwhile, a newly isolated strain Pseudomonas yamanorum W64 showed remarkable tolerance to high HMF concentrations (up to 346 mM). Under optimized whole-cell conditions, this strain achieved BHMF yields of 95.4% and 89.6% from 300 and 346 mM HMF, respectively. The integrated one-pot chemobiocatalytic system was further evaluated for BHMF production directly from sucrose, yielding an overall BHMF yield of 80.6%. This study demonstrates a sustainable and efficient cascade process for the production of BHMF from low-cost sucrose.