Search

The aim of this tutorial review is to provide a general overview of processes, technologies and challenges in the production of pharmaceutical and bioactive compounds from food waste and lignocellulosic residues. Particular attention is given to benign-by-design processes instinctively devoted to environmental sustainability for the recovery of bioactive compounds from food waste as well as for the production of alcohols, acids, polyols, furans and aromatic compounds from lignocellulosic residues. At the same time, novel green synthetic routes for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and the development of novel bioactive compounds are discussed. Recent success industrial stories on the use of food waste and lignocellulosic residues for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignocellulosic biomasses have a tremendous potential to cover the future demand of bio-based chemicals and materials, breaking down our historical dependence on petroleum resources. The development of green chemical technologies, together with the appropriate eco-politics, can make a decisive contribution to a cheap and effective conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks into sustainable and renewable chemical building blocks. In this regard, the use of an indirect H-source for reducing the oxygen content in lignocellulosic biomasses and in their derived platform molecules is receiving increasing attention. In this contribution we highlight recent advances in the transfer hydrogenolysis of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and of their derived model molecules promoted by heterogeneous catalysts for the sustainable production of biofuels and biochemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review provides an overview of heterogeneous bimetallic Pd-Fe catalysts in the C-C and C-O cleavage of platform molecules such as C2-C6 polyols, furfural, phenol derivatives and aromatic ethers that are all easily obtainable from renewable cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin (the major components of lignocellulosic biomasses). The interaction between palladium and iron affords bimetallic Pd-Fe sites (ensemble or alloy) that were found to be very active in several sustainable reactions including hydrogenolysis, catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis (CTH) and aqueous phase reforming (APR) that will be highlighted. This contribution concentrates also on the different synthetic strategies (incipient wetness impregnation, deposition-precipitaion, co-precipitaion) adopted for the preparation of heterogeneous Pd-Fe systems as well as on the main characterization techniques used (XRD, TEM, H2-TPR, XPS and EXAFS) in order to elucidate the key factors that influence the unique catalytic performances observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Levulinic acid (LA) represents a strategic platform chemical which has been included within the list of "top value added chemicals from biomass" and is receiving increasing attention since it can be successfully converted into more added-value bio-products including biofuels, solvents, plasticizers, polymers and fine chemicals [[8]]. The authors evidenced that commercial ruthenium and rhenium catalysts supported on carbon, in the presence of niobium phosphate as acid co-catalyst, gave good performances in the selective hydrogenation of -valerolactone and levulinic acid to 2-methyltetrahydrofuran. The hydrogenation of levulinic acid or alkyl levulinates affords -valerolactone (GVL), a valuable cyclic ester that can be used as a platform chemical, a green solvent and a promising additive for petroleum-derived fuels [[11]]. Raw wood samples were subjected to a preliminary aqueous treatment to remove water-soluble valuable extractives and hemicelluloses, then the resulting solid (mainly containing cellulose and lignin) was employed as a substrate for the production of levulinic and formic acid by acid-catalyzed conversion. [Extracted from the article]

The use of lignocellulosic biomasses for the production of renewable hydrogen is surely among the hot-topic research tasks. In this review, we report on the recent advances in the catalytic conversion of cellulose and its derived C6-C5 sugars (glucose, fructose, and xylose) and polyols (sorbitol and xylitol) into hydrogen via aqueous phase reforming (APR) reactions. The APR processes are considered to be new sustainable catalytic routes for converting the carbohydrate fraction of biomasses into hydrogen at milder reaction conditions if compared with the traditional reforming reactions. Particular emphasis is given to the development of new and active catalysts and to the optimization of reaction conditions that aimed to maximize hydrogen production with a low concentration of CO avoiding, at the same time, the formation of alkanes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: Among many, hydrogenation/hydrogenolysis [[8]] and transfer hydrogenolysis [[10]] of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, C6-C3 polyols, furan derivatives and aromatic ethers represent a core technology of modern biorefineries. In particular, zeolite acid sites allow the decrease of oil viscosity as a consequence of the increase of the concentration of hydrocarbons, alcohols and aldehydes during the storage practice. 3 Espro C., Gumina B., Paone E., Mauriello F. Upgrading Lignocellulosic Biomasses: Hydrogenolysis of Platform Derived Molecules Promoted by Heterogeneous Pd-Fe Catalysts.