Special Issue "Heterogeneous Catalysts for the Valorization of Biomass Derived Compounds"
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2024 | Viewed by 4460
Special Issue Editor
Interests: vegetable biomass; heterogeneous catalysis; multifunctional catalysts; hydrolysis; dehydration; catalytic transfer hydrogenation; one-pot reactions
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The anthropogenic emissions caused by the use of fossil fuels prompt demand for sustainable renewable alternatives. Biomass plays an important role in mitigating climate change, as it is the most abundant renewable source of organic carbon available on Earth. It can be found in terrestrial agriculture, such as in forestry, food and other solid residues, or aquatic biomass, such as in the form of algae residues. The valorization of these residues is possible due to the components present therein, such as cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin and starch. These components can be converted to important biofuels and chemicals, such as organic acids, furanic aldehydes, furanic ethers, levulinates, aromatics and amino acids with applications in several sectors of the chemical industry. Homogeneous catalysts can be very efficient in several conversion processes, but they present several drawbacks such as difficult recovery and separation from the target products, with increased costs. The use of multifunctional heterogenous catalysts is important to enhance the productivity of the processes and allow multiple steps to be carried out in only one reactor. Hence, the development of suitable heterogeneous catalysts for biomass valorization is crucial. This issue covers all aspects of heterogeneous catalysis applied to the valorization of vegetable biomass and derived compounds for producing useful chemicals, biofuels or fuel additives.
Dr. Margarida M. Antunes
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- waste and biomass valorization
- fuels
- bioproducts
- heterogeneous catalysts
- hydrogenation
- oxidation
- condensation
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Autocatalytic oxidation of municipal biowaste
Authors: Enzo Montoneri (a), Mattero Francavilla (b), Elio Padoan (c)
Affiliation: a) Università di Catania (IT), (b) Università di Foggia (IT), (c) Università di Torino (IT).
Abstract: Autocatalytic oxidation of municipal biowaste is performed in the presence a photosensitizer (PHTS) as reaction product, using water as solvent/reagent, solar light as energy source, and hydrogen peroxide and ozone as alternative auxiliary oxidants. The process allows obtaining biopolymers (BPM) for the production of bioplastics, biosurfactants (BPS) and other building blocks (BBB) molecules for the chemical industry. The expected environmental and economic benefits of the above process and products are discussed in comparison with other known technologies for the valorization of biomass derived compounds.