Preparation of 5-chloromethylfurfural as potential intermediate for biofuels using bagasses as raw material

The One-pot conversion of bagasses into 5-chloromethylfurfural under mild conditions (75-95℃) was investigated. The catalytic efficiencies of ten metal chlorides (AlCl3, MgCl2 etc.) were studied, and the desired product was characterized by GC-MS, 1H-nuclear magnetic and infrared spectrum. The experimental results illustrated that all these tested metal chlorides can catalyze the conversion of bagasses into 5-CMF, and AlCl3 was the optimum catalyst in these catalysts including chlorides of alkali metal, alkaline earth metal and transition metal. With AlCl3 as the catalyst, the reaction conditions such as reaction temperature, reaction time, amount of AlCl3 were optimized. The optimum conditions were as follows: use 6.0 g/L AlCl3, 85℃ for 3 h, and the yield of 5-CMF was 72%. This work will provide an important framework for the development of potential biofuels using bagasse as materials.