Catalytic hydrolysis of cellulose into furans in MnCl2–ionic liquid system

Production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was studied in 1-(4-sulfonic acid) butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate (IL-1) with catalytic amount of MnCl2 under atmospheric pressure within 300 min at 150 °C, in which 88.62% of conversion was obtained. With the presence of a catalytic amount of MnCl2, HMF and furfural yields were up to 37% and 18%, respectively, and generated small amount of levulinic acid (LA) and the total reducing sugars (TRS). Dimer of furans compounds as the important by-products were analyzed through HPLC–MS; some small molecular substances, methane, ethane, CO, CO2 and H2, as gas products were detected using mass spectrometry analysis. Comparing with the previous reports, our catalytic system is simple, and it provides an effective route for the conversion of microcrystalline cellulose into biofuels and important platform chemicals.