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Advances in the Catalytic Conversion of Renewable Materials and Biomass...
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Advances in the Catalytic Conversion of Renewable Materials and Biomass to Sustainable Products and Energy

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 2088

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ning Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CAS Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Applied Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, China
Interests: renewable fuels; high-value chemicals with lignocellulosic platform compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Lingzhao Kong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China
Interests: biomass

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The growing demand for sustainable energy and materials has driven research in the catalytic conversion of biomass and renewable feedstocks into sustainable products and energy. This Special Issue focuses on innovative catalytic strategies, including heterogeneous, homogeneous, and biocatalytic processes, as well as hybrid systems, for transforming lignocellulosic biomass, agricultural residues, and other renewable resources into fuels, chemicals, and functional materials. Contributions highlighting catalyst design, reaction mechanisms, process intensification, energy efficiency, and green chemistry approaches are particularly welcome. Studies addressing techno-economic analysis, life-cycle assessment, and scale-up challenges are also encouraged.

This Special Issue provides a platform for researchers and practitioners to share recent advances and emerging trends, ultimately promoting the development of sustainable catalytic technologies that support a circular bioeconomy and the production of environmentally friendly energy and high-value products.

Prof. Dr. Ning Li
Prof. Dr. Lingzhao Kong
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • catalysis
  • biomass conversion
  • renewable materials
  • sustainable energy
  • green chemistry
  • heterogeneous catalysis
  • process intensification
  • lignocellulosic biomass

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 7923 KB  
Article
Efficient Production of 5-Methoxymethyl-2-furfural from Fructose Catalyzed by Amide-Modified Resin
by Chenfeng Li, Jiahao Ju, Beizhan Li, Jilei Xu, Xin Su, Zuoyi Xiao, Qingda An and Jiahui Huang
Catalysts 2026, 16(3), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal16030264 - 15 Mar 2026
Viewed by 648
Abstract
5-Methoxymethyl-2-furfural (MMF) serves as a crucial biobased platform molecule that can be transformed into various high-value chemicals and biobased polyester monomers. However, the current production of MMF still faces several challenges, such as low yield and prolonged reaction time. In this study, we [...] Read more.
5-Methoxymethyl-2-furfural (MMF) serves as a crucial biobased platform molecule that can be transformed into various high-value chemicals and biobased polyester monomers. However, the current production of MMF still faces several challenges, such as low yield and prolonged reaction time. In this study, we prepared a series of amide-modified strongly acidic resin catalysts and discovered that they have a higher efficiency in converting fructose to prepare MMF in 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) and methanol. Among the synthesized catalysts, DB757-NMP demonstrated superior performance, achieving an MMF yield of approximately 61.5% under the optimized conditions, with a combined yield of HMF and MMF reaching about 66.6%. The catalyst formation mechanism was analyzed using FTIR, and NMR, confirming the transformation of proton between NMP and the sulfonic acid groups of the resin, which collectively promoted the conversion of fructose to MMF. In addition, we investigated main reasons for catalyst deactivation and successfully restored catalytic activity through regeneration. The regenerated catalyst could be reused for three times with only a slight decrease in MMF yield. The results suggested that DB757-NMP is a more sufficient and recyclable catalyst for the production of MMF from fructose. This work presented a simple and environmentally benign approach for the synthesis of MMF. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Catalytic Conversion of Renewable Materials and Biomass to Sustainable Products and Energy)
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11 pages, 2301 KB  
Article
Selective Dehydration of 1,3-Cyclopentanediol to Cyclopentadiene over Lanthanum Phosphate Catalysts
by Hao Liu, Xing Zhang, Xiannian Sun, Yu Cong and Ning Li
Catalysts 2025, 15(12), 1125; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15121125 - 2 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1008
Abstract
Cyclopentadiene is an important intermediate that is widely used in the production of useful chemicals, high-density aviation fuels and polymers. Conventional technologies for the production of cyclopentadiene from fossil energies suffer from low yield and selectivity. Therefore, the selective production of cyclopentadiene from [...] Read more.
Cyclopentadiene is an important intermediate that is widely used in the production of useful chemicals, high-density aviation fuels and polymers. Conventional technologies for the production of cyclopentadiene from fossil energies suffer from low yield and selectivity. Therefore, the selective production of cyclopentadiene from renewable biomass is highly expected. In this work, a series of metal phosphates were found to be effective solid acid catalysts for the selective synthesis of cyclopentadiene from the dehydration of 1,3-cyclopentanediol, a platform compound that can be obtained from the aqueous phase rearrangement of furfuryl alcohol followed by hydrogenation. Among the investigated catalysts, lanthanum phosphate (LaP) exhibited the best performance. Over it, 100% 1,3-cyclopentanediol conversion and higher than 90% carbon yield of cyclopentadiene were achieved at 473 K under atmospheric pressure. Based on the results of characterization, the excellent performance of LaP catalyst can be rationalized by its higher amount of acid sites and average pore size. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Catalytic Conversion of Renewable Materials and Biomass to Sustainable Products and Energy)
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