Levulinic Acid as a Catalyst for the Production of 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural and Furfural from Lignocellulose Biomass

Levulinic acid (LA) was used as a catalyst for the first time to produce 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (5‐HMF) and furfural (FAL) from pinewood and eucalyptus sawdust in a mono‐ or biphasic solvent system. 2‐Methyltetrahydrofuran was used as a co‐solvent with water in different ratios and temperatures (140–200 °C). Highest yields of 5‐HMF and FAL were obtained at 180 °C and 2 h reaction time; however, at 160 °C, high yields of C 6 and C 5 sugars were obtained. Both hydrolysis and dehydration steps were accelerated in the MTHF/water biphasic system compared to pure aqueous phase. In particular, 1:2 w/w ratio of MTHF/water resulted in the highest yield of 5‐HMF and FAL, whereas 2:1 w/w ratio showed highest yield of C 6 and C 5 sugars. Increasing the ratio of MTHF/water resulted in a higher fraction of dehydrated products extracted into the organic phase. LA as a catalyst is beneficial because it is miscible in both the phases and the presence of LA favours the equilibrium towards 5‐HMF production.