Abstract:
The replacement of the fossil fuels with renewable sources to produce fuels and value-added chemicals is essential due to the quick depletion of fossil sources and also to meet the stringent environmental regulations. Biomass is known to be the best renewable resource because of the presence of the carbon atom in its chemical structure. Biomass consists of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin as its constituent biopolymers molecules. Cellulose is a polymer of glucose and these glucose molecules are bonded together with (14) glycosidic bonds. So, it makes this polymer hard to break. The production of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) from the cellulose-based carbohydrates is probably one of the promising pathways for the utilization of such renewable resources for the formation of value-added chemicals because 5-HMF has many potential applications in chemical, solvent, biofuel, polymer, and pharmaceutical industries. 5-HMF could be produced with high yields from fructose, with moderate yields from glucose and with low yields from cellulose. A higher yield of 5-HMF from cellulose substrate is necessary for the industrial viability of the process.
