Patent ID: 7572925

Claim:
A process to make furan derivative compounds, the process comprising: dehydrating a feedstock solution comprising a carbohydrate, in the presence of an acid catalyst, in a reaction vessel containing a biphasic reaction medium comprising an aqueous reaction solution and a substantially immiscible organic extraction solution; wherein the aqueous reaction solution, the organic extraction solution, or both the aqueous reaction solution and the organic extraction solution contain at least one modifier to improve selectivity of the process to yield furan derivative compounds, wherein the modifier is selected from the group of consisting of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylformamide, N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP), acetonitrile, butyrolactone, dioxane, pyrrolidinone, and poly(1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidinone); and wherein the carbohydrate is dehydrated in the aqueous reaction solution to yield a furan derivative, and the furan derivative is extracted into the organic extraction solution.