Study of Production of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural from Corn Cobs by Dehydration Reaction using Formic Acid and Sodium Hydroxide as Reagents

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural is an organic compound, that can be synthesized by dehydration of fructose or glucose. The 5-hydroxymethylfurfural platform can be converted into bioliquid fuels and many chemicals. This research studies the synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from corn cobs using co-catalysts. The co-catalysts contain formic acid and sulfuric acid in water and 80% acetonitrile, testing at 140 and 160 oC. The results of using co-catalysts show the best condition for yield 3.5% at ratio of 0.2 M formic acid to 0.2 M sulfuric acid in 80% acetonitrile at 140 oC for 45 min. Subsequently, formic acid and sodium hydroxide are used as reagents. The condition from the best condition of the co-catalyst test including the ratio of 0.2 M formic acid to 0.2 M sodium hydroxide at 140 oC for 45 min in water is found and the yield of 78% can be achieved, which is the highest yield in this research.