To produce 2,5-dimethylfurane (DMF), an organic compound with fuel properties, carbohydrates were processed in a slurry reactor, by catalytic dehydration and hydrogenolysis. Fructose dehydration was evaluated with the conversion of fructose at a range of 423-463 K and under a pressure of 34.5 and 51.7 bar of argon in the presence of a gamma-Al2O3 catalyst. The simultaneous dehydration/hydrogenolysis operation was also carried out with fructose in the presence of a Cu/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst at 443 K and under 34.5 bar of hydrogen. Experimental data indicated that fructose via dehydration was transformed into 5-hydroximethylfurfural (HMF) and then, via hydrogenolysis into DMF. Model equations, including Langmuir-Hinshelwood's kinetic laws were fitted to the experimental data, providing the quantification of the effects of the operating variables (temperature, pressure, copper wt.% in the catalyst). Dehydration of fructose into HMF via interaction with alumina was represented by the specific rate k(1) = 3.28 x 10 (2) g L (1) min (1), while the specific rate of hydrogenolysis of HMF into DMF on the copper sites was as k(3) = 2.28 x 10 (2) g L (1) min (1) . (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.