Production of 2-hydroxyacetylfuran from lignocellulosics treated with ionic liquid–water mixtures

Abstract

Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) was treated with 12 ionic liquid (IL)–water mixtures at 120 °C for 1 h. Production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural and 2-hydroxyacetylfuran (2-HAF) was observed by HPLC and GC-MS. This is the first report to identify 2-HAF from lignocellulosics using ILs. The optimal IL–water mixture was found to be a 90% pyridinium chloride and 10% water w/w solution, although any IL–water mixture that contained pyridinium or imidazolium salts produced all three compounds in varying yields.