Growing concerns related to environmental effects and already depleting fossil fuels, which
are the major source of fuels and chemicals, have forced scientists to search for renewable
alternatives. Biomass has attracted attention as a substitute for fossil fuels due to their
heterogeneous chemical composition, minimal environmental effect and high abundance in
nature.1 Lignocellulose, which is 70-90% of the total plant biomass, mainly the inedible parts
of plants and left over after crop harvest, consisting of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin
polymers can be considered as a suitable source of energy because it doesnt threaten food
supply and biodiversity. Cellulose is a linear polymer of D-glucose units and hemicellulose is
a heterogeneous branched polymer of hexose and pentose sugars whereas lignins are three
dimensional amorphous phenolic polymers. These lignocellulosic components can be
converted by various chemical transformations to commercially important chemicals and
biofuels such as xylitol, furfural, HMF (5-hydroxymehylfurfural), glucose and derivatives of
phenols and benzaldehydes for replacement with petroleum based ones.2,3,4 In the seminar,
conversion of these lignocellulose components selectively to aromatics, fuel additives and
various platform chemicals will be highlighted.
Reference:
[1] Donate, P. M. Chem. Biol. Technol. Agric. 2014, 1, 4.
[2] Kohli, K.; Prajapati, R.; Sharma, B. K. Energies, 2019, 12, 233.
[3] Isikgor, F. H.; Becer, C. R. Polym. Chem. 2015, 6, 4497-4559.
[4] Yamaguchi, A.; Mimura, N; Shirai, M.; Sato, O. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2019, 7, 10445−10451.