Oxidation of HMF gives 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, which has been proposed as a replacement for terephthalic acid in the production of polyesters.
Na zgornji sliki so prikazane v serije kemičnih ravnovesij: fructopyranose 1, fructofuranose 2, dveh vmesnih fazah dehidracije (ni izoliran) 3,4 in končno HMF 5.