Direct Catalytic Conversion of Raw or Waste Biomass to Biofuels and Chemical Building Blocks

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 9466

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: catalysis for sustainability; MW-assisted chemistry; nanomaterials; catalytic conversion; lignocellulosic biomass; biofuels synthesis; heterogeneous catalysts; synthesis of tailored catalytic systems
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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: biomass exploitation; lignocellulosic and waste biomass valorization; 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural, levulinic acid and furfural; biorefinery perspective; sustainable development; applied catalysis; Ru, Pd, Au and Cu heterogeneous systems; optimization of the catalytic performances
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of innovative approaches and resources for the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels from renewable materials is imperative, because of the depletion of fossil reserves and the environmental impact of fossil fuels. Biomass represents a sustainable feedstock for the chemical industry, offering also the opportunity for potentially CO2-neutral products. Recently, an increasing interest has been devoted to the direct synthesis of platform molecules from biomass resources, adopting one-pot approaches or cascade ones. Very important platform chemicals and biofuels as furfural, furfuryl alcohol, HMF or its ethers, but also levulinic acid and levulinates and their hydrogenation products can be obtained directly from raw or waste biomass, by proper tuning of the catalytic systems and by optimization of the reaction conditions. Different catalytic reactions can be involved in these approaches, as hydrolysis, alcoholysis, hydrogenation or hydrogen transfer, etherification. The proper selection of the starting raw materials and the optimization of the involved reactions represent the toughest challenge in the field of catalysis for renewables. 

The aim of this Special Issue is

  • to study how to directly convert the different components of raw or waste biomass to obtain valuable chemicals or biofuels,
  • to study the synthesis of platform molecules directly starting from biomass in a one-pot approach or in a cascade strategy to obtain secondary bio-based chemicals,
  • to examine the different catalytic reactions (homogeneous, heterogeneous, and enzymatic, as well as their combinations) using green reaction media (e.g., water, bioalcohols, ionic liquids, biphasic media, etc.);
  • to evaluate and compare novel and combined process approaches, such as microwave irradiation, sonication, flow chemistry, microreactors, etc.
  • to compare the ascertained biomass reactivity with that of model carbohydrates.

Prof. Anna Maria Raspolli Galletti
Prof. Claudia Antonetti
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • raw biomass conversion
  • green chemistry
  • homogeneous catalysis
  • heterogeneous catalysis
  • enzymatic catalysis
  • sonochemistry
  • levulinic acid and levulinates
  • furfural and furfuryl alcohols
  • HMF and its ethers
  • Biofuels

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 17250 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Mechanocatalytic Pretreatment on the Structure and Depolymerization of Willow
by Henna Lempiäinen, Katja Lappalainen, Jasmiina Haverinen, Tero Tuuttila, Tao Hu, Mari Jaakkola and Ulla Lassi
Catalysts 2020, 10(2), 255; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal10020255 - 19 Feb 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4504
Abstract
In this study, the effect of a mechanocatalytic pretreatment on the structure of willow and sugar release from pretreated willow was explored. In the mechanocatalytic approach, the pretreatment consists of solvent-free impregnation with sulfuric acid and a mechanical treatment with ball milling. Willow [...] Read more.
In this study, the effect of a mechanocatalytic pretreatment on the structure of willow and sugar release from pretreated willow was explored. In the mechanocatalytic approach, the pretreatment consists of solvent-free impregnation with sulfuric acid and a mechanical treatment with ball milling. Willow sawdust and pretreated samples were analyzed with field emission scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. The products in the sugar solution were determined as the total reducing sugars with the 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid method and monosaccharides with capillary electrophoresis. According to the results, milling increased the sugar production, depending on the sulfuric acid load. The milling parameters, such as the rotation speed of the mill, the catalyst-to-willow ratio, and the milling time influenced the amount of sugars in the hydrolysate and the composition of the sugar solution produced. Changes were observed in the surface of the willow particles as well as changes in the crystalline structure. Glucose and xylose yields increased after 15 min of milling and reached their maximum level after 45 min of milling with the 0.5 mmol/g sulfuric acid load. Full article
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23 pages, 4877 KiB  
Article
Multi-Step Exploitation of Raw Arundo donax L. for the Selective Synthesis of Second-Generation Sugars by Chemical and Biological Route
by Nicola Di Fidio, Anna Maria Raspolli Galletti, Sara Fulignati, Domenico Licursi, Federico Liuzzi, Isabella De Bari and Claudia Antonetti
Catalysts 2020, 10(1), 79; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal10010079 - 5 Jan 2020
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4307
Abstract
Lignocellulosic biomass represents one of the most important feedstocks for future biorefineries, being a precursor of valuable bio-products, obtainable through both chemical and biological conversion routes. Lignocellulosic biomass has a complex matrix, which requires the careful development of multi-step approaches for its complete [...] Read more.
Lignocellulosic biomass represents one of the most important feedstocks for future biorefineries, being a precursor of valuable bio-products, obtainable through both chemical and biological conversion routes. Lignocellulosic biomass has a complex matrix, which requires the careful development of multi-step approaches for its complete exploitation to value-added compounds. Based on this perspective, the present work focuses on the valorization of hemicellulose and cellulose fractionsof giant reed (Arundo donax L.) to give second-generation sugars, minimizing the formation of reaction by-products. The conversion of hemicellulose to xylose was undertaken in the presence of the heterogeneous acid catalyst Amberlyst-70 under microwave irradiation. The effect of the main reaction parameters, such as temperature, reaction time, catalyst, and biomass loadings on sugars yield was studied, developing a high gravity approach. Under the optimised reaction conditions (17 wt% Arundo donax L. loading, 160 °C, Amberlyst-70/Arundo donax L. weight ratio 0.2 wt/wt), the xylose yield was 96.3 mol%. In the second step, the cellulose-rich solid residue was exploited through the chemical or enzymatic route, obtaining glucose yields of 32.5 and 56.2 mol%, respectively. This work proves the efficiency of this innovative combination of chemical and biological catalytic approaches, for the selective conversion of hemicellulose and cellulose fractions of Arundo donax L. to versatile platform products. Full article
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