Z. Conrad Zhang, researcher with PNNL-based
Institute for Interfacial Catalysis, converts biomass-derived sugars into intermediate feedstock for plastics. ...
... "Zhang, lead author and former post doc Haibo Zhao, and colleagues John 
Holladay and Heather Brown, all from PNNL, were able to coax HMF yields upward of 70 percent from glucose and nearly 90 percent from fructose while leaving only traces of acid impurities. To achieve this, they experimented with a novel non-acidic catalytic system containing metal chloride catalysts in a solvent capable of dissolving cellulose. The solvent, called an ionic liquid, enabled the metal chlorides to convert the sugars to HMF. Ionic liquids provide an additional benefit: It is reusable, thus produces none of the wastewater in other methods that convert fructose to HMF. " ...
Via PNNL: Plastic that grows on trees