Biomass 6 (1985) 211-221 Biomass as a Source of Chemicals. Ill - Synthesis of New Tetrasubstituted 1, 3-dioxacyclohexanes Rachid E1 Gharbi, Yves Le Bigot Laboratoire de Synth6se et Physicochimie Organique, Ecole Nationale d'In#nieurs, BP W-3038 Sfax, Tunisia Michel Delmas* and Antoine Gaset Laboratoire de Chimie Organique et d'Agrochimie, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie (INP), 118 Route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse C6dex, France (Received: 3 January, 1984) ABSTRA CT New L3-dioxaeyclohexane derivatives were obtained from aldehydes originating from biomass. The two reaction steps involved the Wittig reaction, using a solid-liquid phase transfer proeess, and the Prins reaction in the presence of ion-exchange resins as catalysts. Key words." 1,3-dioxacyclohexane, aldehyde, solid-liquid phase transfer process, ion-exchange resin. INTRODUCTION Certain primary chemical processes applied to biomass make it possible to obtain basic molecules for organic synthesis in such fields as furane derivatives or phenolic aldehyde chemistry, which are normally difficult to obtain using petrochemical techniques. The transformation of these base molecules into more complex monomers or polymers usually requires the application of specific methods. We recently showed how reactions occurring in a heterogeneous medium initiating a solid- liquid 1'2 transfer phase or acid-base catalysts in slightly hydrated 3-s * To whom correspondance should be sent. 211 Biomass 0144-4565/85/$03.30 - © Elsevier England, 1985. Printed in Great Britain Applied Science Publishers Ltd,