The group of ZHANG Jian at CAS Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, in collaboration with Zhejiang Sugar Energy Technology Co., have developed a green and economical technology to produce HMF from fructose. Both catalyst and solvent were recycled at a scale of 2,000 t/a of HMF. To speed up the industrialization process, the team also completed the fructose dehydration step at a scale of 10,000 tons of HMF annually, achieving a molecular yield above 82%.
CAS news release, January 25, 2019