Oxidation of 5-HMF to 2,5-FDCA

The collective strive towards a more sustainable and circular economy converges academic and industrial efforts on the increased implementation of biobased raw materials to produce items of daily use such as packaging, bags, bottles etc. Among others, the conversion of carbohydrates to 5-HMF an finally to 2,5-FDCA is a promising route to valorise non-food biomass. 2,5-FDCA can further be polymerized to Polyethylenfuranoate (PEF) for various use. Over the decades much research has been conducted in this field and various synthetic routes have been explored. However, the economic production of high purity 2,5-FDCA for high quality PEF has been challenging due to the presence of so-called chain stoppers and discoloration issues that can be eliminated only under substantial efforts. With this project we aim to develop a cost-effective procedure for high quality 2,5-FDCA addressing curet shortcomings in this field.