Effects of zeolites porosity and acidity on catalytic conversion of cellulose derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to levulinic acid

The conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to levulinic acid (LA) is one of the important reactions for transformation of biomass into renewable fuels and chemicals. In this work, the catalytic conversion of HMF to LA over zeolites with distinct topologies (ZSM-5/MFI, ZSM-22/TON, SSZ-13/CHA, Beta/∗BEA) was systematically investigated. The adsorption behavior of the substrate HMF was simulated by theoretical calculation of adsorption models. The results indicate that ZSM-5 outperformed ZSM-22 in terms of LA yield, which can be attributed to its suitable pore structure and optimal acid properties. After alkali post-treatment, the ZSM-5-0.1 catalyst exhibited a significant enhancement in LA yield, increasing from 42 ​% to 87 ​%. Furthermore, recyclability tests demonstrated that the ZSM-5-0.1 catalyst had a LA yield of approximately 70 ​% after five cycles. This study provides valuable theoretical insights for the selection of zeolite catalysts in the catalytic conversion of small biomass-derived molecules. • The catalytic conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to levulinic acid over zeolites was systematically investigated. • The selectivity of the ZSM-5-0.1 catalyst for levulinic acid after post-treatment is about 86 ​%. • The ZSM-5-0.1 catalyst still remained a LA yield of approximately 70 ​% after five cycles.