Catalytical Methods for the Production of Fine and Bulk Chemicals and Biomaterials from Biomass

Dear Colleagues,

Biomass in the form of cellulose is the most abundant non-fossil-based carbon source on the surface of planet Earth. Catalytic methods to convert cellulose to bulk and fine chemicals and materials offers a smart route for the replacement of fossil-based resources, and this has been the key objective of this Special Issue. The US department of energy has proposed the following chemicals, namely, 1, 4 diacids (succinic, fumaric and malic), aspartic acid, glutamic acid, 2-5 furan dicarboxylic acid, 3-hydroxy propionic acid, glucaric acid, itaconic acid, levulinic acid, 3-hydroxy butyrolactone, glycerol, sorbitol and xylitol/arabinitol as top 12 value added chemicals that serve as economic drivers for the upcoming biorefinery. The key aspect of the afore mentioned chemicals is the presence of oxygen functionality that facilitates their easy product diversification and it is more so in levulinic acid, a key platform chemical. Multifunctionality, namely, the presence of carbonyl and carboxylic acid groups in the structure of levulinic acid (CH₃COCH₂CH₂COOH, C₅H₈O₃), makes it highly reactive, with easy product diversification, via oxidation, hydrogenation, esterification, amination, dehydration followed by hydrodeoxygenation, condensation, and polymerization resulting in the formation of value added fine and bulk chemicals and biodegradable polymers. The global market size of levulinic acid is USD 20.3 million and is expected to reach USD 30.21 million by 2028. A Web of Science search with the keyword “levulinic acid” shows 8097 results as on 24th February 2022, which shows that the research in this vital field of biofuels, biochemical and biomaterials is indeed at its incipient stages and an explosive outburst and ground breaking inventions are expected in the catalytic conversion of biomass to levulinic acid and its subsequent product diversification to strategically significant fuels like C7-C10 hydrocarbons and unconventional aviation fuels like γ-valerolactone and other prominent class of fuels by name valeric fuels. Levulinic acid is designated by food and drug administration (FDA) as a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) material useful in food and drug industries as well, which is one of the reasons for the expected explosive growth in this field of research. Owing to these reasons, the objective of launching the current Special Issue titled “Production of fine and bulk chemicals and biomaterials from levulinic acid” is to make the existing and new knowledge in this field freely and widely accessible to industrial personnel and policy makers facilitating the development of biorefinery facility leading to the growth of economy, clean environment and increased job opportunities apart from meeting the global energy, chemical and material needs. The research fraternity working on “levulinic acid” is encouraged to enthusiastically contribute their results for publication in the Special Issue of the journal “Catalysts”. 

Dr. Indra Neel Pulidindi
Prof. Dr. Aharon Gedanken
Dr. Pankaj Sharma
Guest Editors

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