US Scientists Develop Single Step Cellulose Conversion to Biofuel Platform Chemical

Scientists from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) of the United States Department of Energy (US-DOE), reports a single step conversion of cellulosic biomass into a useful organic "platform chemical", called HMF. Their study is published in the journal, Applied Catalysis A (URL above). As a "platform chemical", HMF (or 5-hydroxymethylfurfural) can be further processed into plastic or synthetic liquid biofuels. Conventionally, HMF can be produced from sugars, but PNNL scientists recently found a way to produce it from cellulosic biomass through a two step conversion: "cellulose-to-sugars-to-HMF". They were able to go one step further by doing away with the cellulose-to-sugar step by using paired catalysts (CuCl₂/CrCl₂ in organic solvent) to develop a direct "cellulose-to-HMF" process. According to the scientists, "the ability to synthesize HMF directly from raw natural cellulose [in a single step] would remove a major barrier to the development of a sustainable HMF platform".

Related information on HMF:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxymethylfurfura