Catalytic features of Nb-based nanoscopic inorganic fluorides for an efficient one-pot conversion of cellulose to lactic acid

Catalytic conversion of cellulosic biomass to harvest high-valued organic acids

Catalytic conversion of biomass provides an alternative way for the production of organic acids from renewable feedstocks. The emerging process contains complex reactions and strategies to cut down those complex biogenic materials into target molecules. Here, we review the catalytic conversion of cellulosic biomass toward high-valued organic acids. This work has summarized the key controlling reactions which lead toward formic acid, glycolic acid, or sugar acids in oxidative conditions and the main pathways for lactic acid or levulinic acid in the anaerobic environment from cellulosic biomass and its derivatives. We evaluate and compare different strategies and methods such as one-pot and two-step conversion. Additionally, the optimization of catalytic reactions has been discussed to realize the design of C-C coupling reactions, the development of multifunctional materials, and new efficient system. In all, this article gives an insight guide to precisely convert cellulosic biomass into target organic acids.

Niobium: The Focus on Catalytic Application in the Conversion of Biomass and Biomass Derivatives

The world scenario regarding consumption and demand for products based on fossil fuels has demonstrated the imperative need to develop new technologies capable of using renewable resources. In this context, the use of biomass to obtain chemical intermediates and fuels has emerged as an important area of research in recent years, since it is a renewable source of carbon in great abundance. It has the benefit of not contributing to the additional emission of greenhouse gases since the CO2 released during the energy conversion process is consumed by it through photosynthesis. In the presented review, the authors provide an update of the literature in the field of biomass transformation with the use of niobium-containing catalysts, emphasizing the versatility of niobium compounds for the conversion of different types of biomass.

Recent Advances in the Brønsted/Lewis Acid Catalyzed Conversion of Glucose to HMF and Lactic Acid: Pathways toward Bio-Based Plastics

One of the most trending topics in catalysis recently is the use of renewable sources and/or non-waste technologies to generate products with high added value. That is why, the present review resumes the advances in catalyst design for biomass chemical valorization. The variety of involved reactions and functionality of obtained molecules requires the use of multifunctional catalyst able to increase the efficiency and selectivity of the selected process. The use of glucose as platform molecule is proposed here and its use as starting point for biobased plastics production is revised with special attention paid to the proposed tandem Bronsted/Lewis acid catalysts.

Conversion of Sucrose into Lactic Acid over Functionalized Sn-Beta Zeolite Catalyst by 3-Aminopropyltrimethoxysilane

The utilization of sucrose, an easily accessible disaccharide, in the production of a versatile platform chemical lactic acid (LA), is more attractive than a monosaccharide. In this work, we report a modification approach by 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane to introduce an amino group onto the surface of the Sn-Beta Lewis acid catalyst. Using the modified catalyst, a maximum LA yield of 58% was achieved under optimal hydrothermal conditions (190 °C, 4 h) from sucrose, along with a complete conversion and a reduced 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) yield of 8% compared to Sn-Beta. To evaluate the role of the amino group, different substrates were used as the reactants to produce LA. The experimental results suggested that both fructose and glucose were crucial intermediates in the initial 2 h, whereas glucose is the sole reactant after 2 h. Upon modification, not only the hydrolysis of sucrose was promoted, but the side reaction of HMF formation was also suppressed.

Chemocatalytic Production of Lactates from Biomass-Derived Sugars

In recent decades, a great deal of attention has been paid to the exploration of alternative and sustainable resources to produce biofuels and valuable chemicals, with aims of reducing the reliance on depleting confined fossil resources and alleviating serious economic and environmental issues. In line with this, lignocellulosic biomass-derived lactic acid (LA, 2-hydroxypropanoic acid), to be identified as an important biomass-derived commodity chemical, has found wide applications in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. In spite of the current fermentation of saccharides to produce lactic acid, sustainability issues such as environmental impact and high cost derived from the relative separation and purification process will be growing with the increasing demands of necessary orders. Alternatively, chemocatalytic approaches to manufacture LA from biomass (i.e., inedible cellulose) have attracted extensive attention, which may give rise to higher productivity and lower costs related to product work-up. This work presents a review of the state-of-the-art for the production of LA using homogeneous, heterogeneous acid, and base catalysts, from sugars and real biomass like rice straw, respectively. Furthermore, the corresponding bio-based esters lactate which could serve as green solvents, produced from biomass with chemocatalysis, is also discussed. Advantages of heterogeneous catalytic reaction systems are emphasized. Guidance is suggested to improve the catalytic performance of heterogeneous catalysts for the production of LA.