Liquid-liquid equilibrium in the production of 5-hidroximetilfurfural.

Author(s)

Kyriale Vasconcelos Morant Cavalcanti

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Politécnica (EP/BC)
• Defense date: 2018-12-05

Examining board members

Luis Alberto Follegatti Romero

• Advisor: Luis Alberto Follegatti Romero

Abstract

The building block composts\' production from carbohydrates is currently attracting the attention of the research community, especially because they could be used as bioenergy. One of those composts is 5-hydroximetilfurfural, or HMF, which has a high potential as crude matter in biofuels as well as in medicine and also in polymers\' production. The easiest way to obtain HMF is by oligosaccharides dehydration using an acid medium at a biphasic reactor. In the aqueous phase, there are an acid catalyser and a sugar, and in the extractive organic phase, there is an alcoholic solvent that is partially miscible with water, were HMF is extracted continuously. A literature review showed that the industrial extraction process is not yet economically attractive. That happens due to missing thermodynamic data that would guarantee a successful extraction, such as the liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) data from the HMF, water and alcohol system. By improving the LLE in the extraction phase utilising a correct and efficient alcohol, we can increase the system efficiency: more HMF and less unwanted by-products extraction and a decrease in the energy consumption. Having those things in mind, in this research solubility graphics and LLE data between HMF, water, alcohol (1-pentanol, 1-hexanol e 1-heptanol) at 298,15 K and ~0,1 MPa were determined experimentally. The distribution coefficients and selectivities were employed to assess the capacity of solvents to extract 5hydroxymethylfurfural from aqueous solution. 1-pentanol showed better performance than the other studied alcohols for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural recovery from water. The NRTL model was used to correlate the experimental data and relevant binary interaction parameters were regressed. The root mean square deviations (RMSD) of the NRTL model was around 0.78%, which indicate that the experimental LLE data can be successfully correlated by model. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/21637-5 - Liquid-liquid equilibrium in the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural
• Grantee: Kyriale Vasconcelos Morant Cavalcanti
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master