Green Chemical Offering: Low Cost and Environmentally Friendly HMF

Overview

Green Chemical produces 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) using a catalyst-driven, eco-friendly process. Unlike traditional methods that rely on high temperatures, pressure, and harmful chemicals, their process operates below 100°C with no pressure and only food-safe materials. Their purification method enables a stable, high-purity HMF (up to 99.9%) while maintaining cost-effectiveness.

Key Differentiators:

• Lower Cost: Reaction temperature is below 100°C and at ambient pressure vs. high temperature & high pressure in traditional manufacturing processes.
• Environmentally Friendly: No strong acids (e.g., no sulfuric acid) or environmentally harmful compounds used in synthesis.
• Less Processing: 95% initial purity, tunable to 99.9%.
• Flexible Feedstock: Able to use non-food biomass or food-safe ingredients (sucrose).

Potential Applications

• Customizable purity and color for diverse industry needs.
• Production of HMF derivatives tailored to specific applications.
• Suitable for food, flavors, fragrances, and pharmaceuticals. 

Technology Description

HMF is a clear to pale yellow, low-melting solid soluble in water and organic solvents. It naturally forms in sugar-containing foods and honey and serves as a critical bio-based platform compound. HMF’s unique structure (an aromatic ring with aldehyde and hydroxymethyl groups) makes it highly reactive and suitable for conversion into multiple biomass-based products.

Traditional HMF synthesis requires high-temperature, high-pressure conditions (e.g., HTC method), which are costly and environmentally taxing. In contrast, Green Chemical’s technology operates under mild conditions, using only food-safe raw materials while eliminating equipment limitations and environmental burdens.

Additional Technical Details

Their simple purification method achieves 95% purity (major impurities being HMF dimers). By implementing their proprietary purification technique, they can attain 99.9% purity, which can be adjusted based on application requirements.

• Purity Levels: 95% (standard), 99.9% (high-purity)
• Analytical Methods: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR).

　　　Purity：95%　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　                               Purity：99.9%

 High-performance liquid chromatography analysis　　　　　　Nuclear Magnetic Resonance analysis

Development Status

Green Chemicals HMF is in advanced product development, with ongoing R&D focused on non-edible biomass feedstock solutions. They seek collaboration with flavor manufacturers and end users exploring HMF applications in various markets. Small samples are available upon request.

Image by FreePik