Coke evolution study in a liquid atomization into gas-solid fluidized bed to convert fructose to value-added chemicals

Abstract

Glucose and fructose are valuable compounds, which have the potential to displace fossil fuels as a feedstock for highly valued products. One of the promising reactions is the oxi-dehydration of fructose to produce Hydroxymethylfurfural, 2,5-diformylfuran, and furfural. Current processes to produce platform chemicals like Hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, and 2,5-diformylfuran operate in liquid phase with homogeneous heterogeneous catalyst, but commercialization is limited by scale and environmental impact of the large volume solvent required. Here we developed a gas-phase process to convert fructose in a fluidized bed reactor over Mo − V − WO₃/TiO₂. However, in the catalytic oxi-dehydration of fructose, coke forms on active sites and decreases conversion but increases selectivity. Coke and reactor performance depends on fructose concentration and O₂/fructose ratio. In the first 2 h, acidic amorphous coke accumulates (based on TPO, FTIR, and UV–vis). Feeding excess O₂ maintains coke in an amorphous structure and liberates oxide sites. Whereas coke promotes, water block active site reducing yield. In this work, we optimized the operating parameters of fructose concentration (%) and O₂/fructose ratio, while simultaneously mitigating the issues associated with coke formation and its detrimental effects.