Sustainable Production of 2,3-Pentanedione: Catalytic Performance of Ba2P2O7 Doped with Cs for Vapor-Phase Condensation of Lactic Acid

Catalytic Transformation of Carbohydrates into Renewable Organic Chemicals by Revering the Principles of Green Chemistry

Adherence to the principles of green chemistry in a biorefinery setting ensures energy efficiency, reduces the consumption of materials, simplifies reactor design, and rationalizes the process parameters for synthesizing affordable organic chemicals of desired functional efficacy and ingrained sustainability. The green chemistry metrics facilitate assessing the relative merits and demerits of alternative synthetic pathways for the targeted product(s). This work elaborates on how green chemistry has emerged as a transformative framework and inspired innovations toward the catalytic conversion of biomass-derived carbohydrates into fuels, chemicals, and synthetic polymers. Specific discussions have been incorporated on the judicious selection of feedstock, reaction parameters, reagents (stoichiometric or catalytic), and other synthetic auxiliaries to obtain the targeted product(s) in desired selectivity and yield. The prospects of a carbohydrate-centric biorefinery have been emphasized and research avenues have been proposed to eliminate the remaining roadblocks. The analyses presented in this review will steer to developing superior synthetic strategies and processes for envisaging a sustainable bioeconomy centered on biomass-derived carbohydrates.

An In-Situ Self-regeneration Catalyst for the Production of Renewable Penta-1,3-diene

Catalyst deactivation is a problem of great concern for many heterogeneous reactions. Here, an urchin-like LaPO₄ catalyst was easily developed for pentane-2,3-diol dehydration; it has an impressive ability to restore the activity in situ by itself during the reaction, accounting for its high stability. This facilitates the efficient production of renewable penta-1,3-diene from pentane-2,3-dione via a novel approach, where penta-2,3-diol was obtained as an intermediate in 95 % yield under mild conditions.

Confined alkali metal ions in two-dimensional aluminum phosphate promoted activity for the condensation of lactic acid to 2,3-pentanedione

The intercalated alkali metal ions can efficiently mediate the acidity–basicity of the catalysts, significantly promoting the activity for LA condensation to 2,3-pentanedione.

Continuous Flow Upgrading of Selected C2-C6 Platform Chemicals Derived from Biomass

The ever increasing industrial production of commodity and specialty chemicals inexorably depletes the finite primary fossil resources available on Earth. The forecast of population growth over the next 3 decades is a very strong incentive for the identification of alternative primary resources other than petro-based ones. In contrast with fossil resources, renewable biomass is a virtually inexhaustible reservoir of chemical building blocks. Shifting the current industrial paradigm from almost exclusively petro-based resources to alternative bio-based raw materials requires more than vibrant political messages; it requires a profound revision of the concepts and technologies on which industrial chemical processes rely. Only a small fraction of molecules extracted from biomass bears significant chemical and commercial potentials to be considered as ubiquitous chemical platforms upon which a new, bio-based industry can thrive. Owing to its inherent assets in terms of unique process experience, scalability, and reduced environmental footprint, flow chemistry arguably has a major role to play in this context. This review covers a selection of C₂ to C₆ bio-based chemical platforms with existing commercial markets including polyols (ethylene glycol, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, glycerol, 1,4-butanediol, xylitol, and sorbitol), furanoids (furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural) and carboxylic acids (lactic acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, itaconic acid, and levulinic acid). The aim of this review is to illustrate the various aspects of upgrading bio-based platform molecules toward commodity or specialty chemicals using new process concepts that fall under the umbrella of continuous flow technology and that could change the future perspectives of biorefineries.

Sustainable production of pyruvic acid: oxidative dehydrogenation of lactic acid over the FeMoO/P catalyst

Novel redox of FeMoO/P by electron transfer between Fe and Mo is favorable for the oxidative dehydrogenation of lactic acid.

An efficient and durable hierarchically porous KLA/TiPO catalyst for vapor phase condensation of lactic acid to 2,3-pentanedione

A KLA/TPO catalyst has excellent activity due to the synergistic catalysis of Lewis acidic sites and basic sites.