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Plant-Derived Biomass Catalytic and Biocatalytic Transformation into Biorefinery Products
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Plant-Derived Biomass Catalytic and Biocatalytic Transformation into Biorefinery Products

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomass Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2025) | Viewed by 1775

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Miguel Ladero Galán

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
FQPIMA Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: glycerol; biodiesel; valorization; catalysts; carbonates; ketals; monomers; ethers; esters; lactic acid; hydrogen; acrolein; acrilonitrile; acrylic acid; glycidol; diols; refining; oxidation; dehydration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ernesto González

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
FQPIMA Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: microbial transformation; bioelectrochemical systems; biomining; biopolymer; sugars; organic acids; solvents; biorefinery; biomaterial; circular economy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global trend of finding new sustainable material and energy resources and more efficient processes is the result of a booming world population with increasing needs and life expectancy. In this context, plant biomass again shows its enormous importance to humankind due to its abundance (147,000 million tons per year are created via photosynthesis), starring as an excellent raw material for obtaining products able to compete with and ultimately replace petrochemical industry materials and chemicals. Plant biomass is renewable and abundant, but its creation requires huge amounts of energy from the Sun and water, a key aspect in plant biomass sustainability.

The transformation of plant biomass into products of interest to humankind is evident in the agriculture, food, cosmetics, pharmacological, and chemical industries, the base of first- and second-generation biorefineries. While biomass for first-generation biorefineries is still at the forefront for biorefinery development, plant biomass suitable for second-generation biorefineries is more abundant and poses no threat to the food industry, instead presenting an opportunity for food valorization, waste, and loss. In this framework, thermal, catalytic, and biocatalytic processes are being designed and implemented to transform readily available and reactive biomass (first generation) and refractory, but abundant, plant biomass (second generation) into chemicals, materials, energy, food, and feed through holistic and ideally sustainable processing. This Special Issue is devoted to all these bio/catalytic processes, including, among other related subjects, bio/catalyst design and characterization, process creation, optimization, and/or implementation, kinetic and/or thermodynamical modelling, batch, fed-batch, and continuous or in-flow operation, bio/reactor design and operation, and technoeconomic analysis of processes based on plant biomass and focused on all products of interest.

Prof. Dr. Miguel Ladero Galán
Dr. Ernesto González
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Catalysts is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biorefinery
  • plant
  • photosynthesis
  • platform chemical
  • biocatalysis
  • catalysis
  • valorization
  • pretreatment
  • recalcitrant
  • saccharification
  • chemical
  • monomer
  • circularity
  • sustainability

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 1622 KiB  
Article
Enzymatic Production of p-Methoxycinnamate Monoglyceride Under Solventless Conditions: Kinetic Analysis and Product Characterization
by Laura Molinero, Juan J. Tamayo, José J. Gandia, Félix García-Ochoa and Miguel Ladero
Catalysts 2025, 15(6), 548; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15060548 - 31 May 2025
Viewed by 328
Abstract
With the increase in biodiesel production experienced in the last decades, biomass-derived glycerol is obtained at a high rate, so glycerol availability in the market has scaled up while this polyol price has been reduced, with the exception of high-quality glycerol. In this [...] Read more.
With the increase in biodiesel production experienced in the last decades, biomass-derived glycerol is obtained at a high rate, so glycerol availability in the market has scaled up while this polyol price has been reduced, with the exception of high-quality glycerol. In this context, novel and sustainable products based on glycerol are actively looked for. Octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC) is a common cosmetic ingredient and sunscreen with potential activity as an endocrine disruptor that is considered an emergent contaminant in aquatic environments. As possible substituents, glycerol-based methoxycinnamates such as monoglycerides can be obtained via lipase-driven esterification. In this work, we develop an enzymatic process under solventless conditions to obtain p-methoxycinnamate monoglyceride under mild conditions using Novozym 435—an immobilized industrial preparation of the lipase B of Candida antarctica—observing the effect of key process variables such as temperature and enzyme, water and acid concentrations. Furthermore, the obtained product was assessed for its activity as UVB-filter and for its stability under irradiation conditions, showing a similar SPF activity and a much higher stability toward photooxidation than OMC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Derived Biomass Catalytic and Biocatalytic Transformation into Biorefinery Products)
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16 pages, 1893 KiB  
Article
The Study and Optimization of the AlCl3/SnCl2 Catalyst System in the Subcritical Water Production of Lactic Acid from Corn Stover
by Helena Candela, Alba Ester Illera, Pedro Barea, Sagrario Beltrán and M. Teresa Sanz
Catalysts 2025, 15(6), 539; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15060539 - 28 May 2025
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Abstract
The lactic acid (LA) production from corn stover using Lewis acid catalysts was optimized. Initially, an equimolar mixture of Al(III)/Sn(II) was used as a catalytic system at 190 °C with 5 wt% biomass. Increasing the catalyst concentration led to higher LA production, showing [...] Read more.
The lactic acid (LA) production from corn stover using Lewis acid catalysts was optimized. Initially, an equimolar mixture of Al(III)/Sn(II) was used as a catalytic system at 190 °C with 5 wt% biomass. Increasing the catalyst concentration led to higher LA production, showing the optimal results at 16 mM. A low catalyst concentration mainly produced furfural and HMF, dehydration products from the corn stover sugars. Higher catalyst concentration increased LA yield but also produced the degradation of the glucose dehydration products into levulinic and formic acids, reducing LA selectivity. Al(III) was essential for LA formation, while Sn(II) was less effective due to its lower solubility, shown by the presence of Sn(II) in the solid residue after treatments. A total of 16 mM Al(III) yielded the highest LA levels at 190 °C, 7.4 g/L, and 20.7% yield. Increasing the temperature to 210 °C accelerated the LA production while also achieving the lowest energy consumption, which was 0.47 kWh/g LA at the highest LA production point. However, longer treatments at this temperature caused LA degradation. AlCl3 has been identified as an ideal catalyst for biomass conversion to LA, being inexpensive and low in toxicity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Derived Biomass Catalytic and Biocatalytic Transformation into Biorefinery Products)
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Review

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23 pages, 5288 KiB  
Review
A Review on Green Hydrogen Production by Aqueous Phase Reforming of Lignocellulose and Derivatives
by Mengjie Li, Weilong Ji, Chunjie Huang, Xiaoqin Si, Qian Liu, Rui Lu and Tianliang Lu
Catalysts 2025, 15(3), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15030280 - 17 Mar 2025
Viewed by 786
Abstract
With the intensification of the global energy crisis, hydrogen has attracted significant attention as a high-energy-density and zero-emission clean energy source. Traditional hydrogen production methods are dependent on fossil fuels and simultaneously contribute to environmental pollution. The aqueous phase reforming (APR) of renewable [...] Read more.
With the intensification of the global energy crisis, hydrogen has attracted significant attention as a high-energy-density and zero-emission clean energy source. Traditional hydrogen production methods are dependent on fossil fuels and simultaneously contribute to environmental pollution. The aqueous phase reforming (APR) of renewable biomass and its derivatives has emerged as a research hotspot in recent years due to its ability to produce green hydrogen in an environmentally friendly manner. This review provides an overview of the advancements in APR of lignocellulosic biomass as a sustainable and environmentally friendly method for hydrogen production. It focuses on the reaction pathways of various biomass feedstocks (such as glucose, cellulose, and lignin), as well as the types and performance of catalysts used in the APR process. Finally, the current challenges and future prospects in this field are briefly discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Derived Biomass Catalytic and Biocatalytic Transformation into Biorefinery Products)
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