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Catalysts
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Catalytic Conversion and Utilization of Biomass
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Catalytic Conversion and Utilization of Biomass

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2025 | Viewed by 3424

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xiaojun Shen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: catalysis; lignin depolymerization; biomass fractionation
Dr. Chao Xie

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center on Biomass Resource Utilization, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
Interests: catalysis; biomass transformation; biomass utilization; green chemistry; aerobic oxidation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The chemicals, energies and materials associated with lignocellulosic biomass are renewable and sustainable, and have the potential to replace fossil feedstocks. Biorefinery, the process of fractionating lignocellulose into the three major components, is considered one of the most promising strategies for the use of bioenergy, biomaterials and biochemicals. Until now, due to its complex hierarchy and chemical structures, only 2% of lignocellulose is valorized into value-added products, and most of them are burned or discarded, even though biomass is the most renewable resource on earth. Therefore, there is a need to exploit the technology that can interpret in depth the heterogeneous structure of lignocellulose and develop a process that can efficiently fractionate lignocellulose into cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin, as well as develop the technology that can convert the lignocellulose into high-value chemical products and high-performance functional materials in a sustainable and promising way.

The complex compositional structure of lignocellulosic biomass and biomass recalcitrance severely inhibits their effective conversion and selective production of high-value products. Therefore, before utilizing lignocellulose, we must comprehensively understand its heterogeneous structure by advanced characterization, such as through NMR, which will guide the further fractionation of lignocellulose by efficiently breaking the biomass recalcitrance. After obtaining the high-purity components, lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses, techniques should be developed to transform them into chemicals, materials or fuel. In addition, the catalytic fractionation strategy is a promising strategy for the separation of derivatives of a certain component from the reaction mixture and the utilization of the residual solid during catalytic fractionation. The ultimate goal of biomass utilization is to produce biofuels and biomaterials in industrial production that are cost- and performance-competitive with petroleum-derived equivalents.

Original research articles and review articles focusing on the characterization, fractionation and conversion of lignocellulose, as well as the applications of lignocellulosic materials, are welcome. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

  • Chemocatalytic depolymerization of biomass;
  • Upgrading of biomass and lignin to fuels and chemicals;
  • Novel and high-efficiency biomass fractionation methods for improving lignin quality and promoting the enzyme hydrolysis of cellulose;
  • Structural elucidation of native and fractionated biomass, such as cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin;
  • Lignocellulose-based materials;
  • Process simulation of integrated biorefinery and techno-economic analysis;
  • Bioenergy and biomass biorefinery results from pilot, demonstration and industrial plants.

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Dr. Xiaojun Shen
Dr. Chao Xie
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.

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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

  • lignocellulose
  • fractionation
  • catalytic conversion
  • value-added utilization

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 5259 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Cu-Pd Nanocatalysts on MOF-Derived N-Doped Carbon for Selective Hydrogenolysis of Lignin to Aromatic Monomers
by Wenjun Lei, Yan Fu, Shipeng Gu, Shuaishuai Qiu and Jie Chang
Catalysts 2025, 15(5), 455; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15050455 - 7 May 2025
Abstract
Catalytic hydrogenolysis of lignin to produce high-value monophenols has emerged as a pivotal strategy in modern biorefineries. In this study, we synthesized spherical nitrogen-doped porous carbon (SNCB) materials by using Al/Co-BTC as a precursor, introducing melamine as a supplementary carbon and nitrogen source, [...] Read more.
Catalytic hydrogenolysis of lignin to produce high-value monophenols has emerged as a pivotal strategy in modern biorefineries. In this study, we synthesized spherical nitrogen-doped porous carbon (SNCB) materials by using Al/Co-BTC as a precursor, introducing melamine as a supplementary carbon and nitrogen source, and activating the material with NaOH solution. The SNCB framework was decorated with Cu-Pd bimetallic nanoparticles, exhibiting outstanding catalytic activity in the hydrogenolytic depolymerization of organosolv lignin. The Cu-Pd@SNCB catalyst exhibited remarkable activity, attributed to the hierarchical porous structure of SNCB that facilitated metal nanoparticle dispersion and reactant accessibility. The synergistic effect between Cu as the reactive site for reactant adsorption and Pd as the reactive site for H2 adsorption enhanced the catalytic activity of the catalyst. Systematically optimized conditions (2 MPa H2, 270 °C, 3 h) yielded 43.02 wt% phenolic monomers, with 4-(3-hydroxypropyl)-2,6-dimethoxyphenol dominating the product profile at 46.3% selectivity. The catalyst and its reaction products were analyzed using advanced characterization techniques, including XPS, XRD, TEM, SEM, BET, GC-MS, GPC, 2D HSQC NMR, and FT-IR, to elucidate the reaction mechanism. The mechanism proceeds through: (1) nucleophilic substitution of the β-O-4 hydroxyl group by MeOH, followed by (2) simultaneous hydrogenolytic cleavage of Cβ-O and Cα-O bonds mediated by Cu-Pd@SNCB under H2 atmosphere, which selectively produces 4-(3-hydroxypropyl)-2,6-dimethoxyphenol and 4-propyl-2,6-dimethoxyphenol. This study proposes a bimetallic synergistic mechanism, offering a general blueprint for developing selective lignin valorization catalysts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Conversion and Utilization of Biomass)
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12 pages, 4551 KiB  
Article
Sulfite Pretreatment Enhances Tobacco Stalk Deconstruction for Cellulose Saccharification and Lignin Pyrolysis
by Dong Li, Rui Wu, Sheng Zhang, Zhichang Liu, Pei Wei, Xin Hu, Lianfeng Huang, Xiaojun Shen, Jungang Jiang and Lei Wang
Catalysts 2024, 14(12), 889; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14120889 - 4 Dec 2024
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Abstract
Sulfite-catalyzed acid pretreatment to overcome the inherent recalcitrance of biomass offers a significant advantage in terms of obtaining high glucose conversion. However, the residual lignin after enzymatic hydrolysis has not been fully exploited. Herein, this study introduced a joint approach using sulfite-catalyzed acid [...] Read more.
Sulfite-catalyzed acid pretreatment to overcome the inherent recalcitrance of biomass offers a significant advantage in terms of obtaining high glucose conversion. However, the residual lignin after enzymatic hydrolysis has not been fully exploited. Herein, this study introduced a joint approach using sulfite-catalyzed acid pretreatment (SPROL) and pyrolysis to upgrade tobacco stalk to produce fermentable sugar, and the resulting lignin is used to produce bio-oil and bio-char. The results suggest that SPROL pretreated tobacco stalk yields a high cellulose-based glucose selectivity of 75.9% with 15 FPU/g substrate enzyme dosage at 50 °C after 72 h of enzymolysis. Lignin characterization reveals that sulfonation occurred during SPROL pretreatment, and as the dosage of sulfonating agent increased, the thermal stability of the residue lignin decreased. After sample pyrolysis at 600 °C for 30 min, approximately 22%, 33%, and 45% of the lignin undergoes conversion into bio-oil, bio-char, and gas products, respectively. The bio-oil analysis results demonstrated that acetic acid is the most abundant identified GC-MS component at around 69.91% at the optimal condition, which implied that it could be of high value when utilized for pyroligneous acid. This research provides a synthetic approach using the SPORL technique to process tobacco stalk into fermentable sugar, bio-oil, and bio-char, which is significant for the commercial utilization of agricultural waste into value-added products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Conversion and Utilization of Biomass)
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11 pages, 2927 KiB  
Article
Comparison of the Effects of NaOH and Deep Eutectic Solvent Catalyzed Tobacco Stock Lignin Isolation: Chemical Structure and Thermal Characteristics
by Zhichang Liu, Ziwei Wang, Yichen Li, Wanxia Wang, Xiongbin Liu, Hao Shu and Jungang Jiang
Catalysts 2024, 14(11), 744; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14110744 - 23 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1317
Abstract
Uncovering the structure of lignin from biorefinery has an important effect on lignin catalytic depolymerization and the production of bioenergy. In this study, two biorefinery lignins were isolated from tobacco stalks via alkaline and deep eutectic solvent (DES) catalyzed delignification processes, and the [...] Read more.
Uncovering the structure of lignin from biorefinery has an important effect on lignin catalytic depolymerization and the production of bioenergy. In this study, two biorefinery lignins were isolated from tobacco stalks via alkaline and deep eutectic solvent (DES) catalyzed delignification processes, and the lignin heterogeneity structural characteristics were elucidated by gel permeation chromatography, 2D-HSQC, FT-IR, etc., to understand the relationship between the structure and the thermal characteristics of lignin. It was found that the lignins presented various structural characteristics and components, in which the predominant interunit linkages of black liquor lignin are β-O-4 and β-β linkages, and the β-O-4 linkages disappeared by DES treatment. DES lignins exhibited lower molecular weights and yields than black liquor lignin. Thermogravimetric analysis and fixed-bed pyrolysis were also performed to investigate the lignin thermal behavior. The results show that the DES approach can improve the bio-oil production from lignin and highlight the potential of DES lignin as a promising feedstock in the lignin pyrolysis process. This work provides a valuable example of the conversion of biorefinery lignin into pyrolysis products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Conversion and Utilization of Biomass)
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Review

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19 pages, 2069 KiB  
Review
Progress in Research on the Preparation of 2, 5-Furandicarboxylic Acid by Hydroxymethylfurfural Oxidation
by Liang Qu, Fanzhuo Kong, Xueshan Chen, Yuyang Zhang, Zhiyuan Lin, Xing Ni, Xue Zhang, Qiongya Lu, Yani Zhao and Bin Zou
Catalysts 2025, 15(4), 373; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15040373 - 11 Apr 2025
Viewed by 412
Abstract
Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a substance produced in sugar-rich foods through the Maillard reaction or thermal degradation. It has been shown that when HMF content reaches a certain dose, it causes harm to human health. In many food quality tests, the content of HMF [...] Read more.
Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a substance produced in sugar-rich foods through the Maillard reaction or thermal degradation. It has been shown that when HMF content reaches a certain dose, it causes harm to human health. In many food quality tests, the content of HMF can be used as an important indicator. Therefore, when the content of hydroxymethylfurfural in food is too high, it will cause damage to the human body. But to conserve resources, hydroxymethylfurfural in food can be converted into valuable chemicals, so as to achieve the effective use of resources. It has been shown that foods rich in fructose and glucose can be easily transformed into HMF. Therefore, it is necessary and important to study the conversion pathway of hydroxymethylfurfural in foods. 2, 5 furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) can be obtained through the HMF oxidation reaction. Due to the similarity of its structure to the polymer monomer terephthalic acid, it can be used as a renewable substitute monomer of petroleum-based terephthalic acid in the process of synthesizing food-contact materials. Therefore, it is very significant to explore the oxidation process of HMF to FDCA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalytic Conversion and Utilization of Biomass)
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