Photocatalytic conversion of biomass into valuable products: a meaningful approach?

Abstract

Latest achievements in the field of photocatalytic conversion of biomass are reviewed, and experimental conditions and results are critically evaluated.

Catalytic Transformation of Biomass Derivatives to Value‐Added Chemicals and Fuels in Continuous Flow Microreactors

“…[286] Another challenge lies specifically in the precipitation of FDCA that is formed during the oxidation of HMF. [290] In photocatalysis a chemical reaction is performed by exposure of ultraviolet, visible or infrared radiation in the presence of a photocatalyst that absorbs the light and induces the chemical transformation. A possible way to circumvent this in microreactors might be by the addition of an inert carrier phase in which the precipitated FDCA particles are dispersed, preventing them from interacting with the microreactor wall or solid catalysts.…”

Selective Conversion of Cellulose to Hydroxyacetone and 1‐Hydroxy‐2‐Butanone with Sn–Ni Bimetallic Catalysts

“…[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] To day,f ine chemicals such as pesticides, coatings, drugi ntermediates, and food additives, used in daily life, are almost exclusively petrochemical products. [16,17] Most researchers have focused on enhancing the hydrogenation activity and selectively cleaving CÀCb onds to catalyze the hydrolysis of cellulose. [16,17] Most researchers have focused on enhancing the hydrogenation activity and selectively cleaving CÀCb onds to catalyze the hydrolysis of cellulose.…”

Environmental Catalysis: Present and Future

“…In this regards, organic photosynthetic reactions including oxidations, reductions, isomerizations, substitutions, polymerizations and condensations have been reported . For example, selective production of high added value compounds (e. g. benzaldehyde and 1‐phenylethanol) can be obtained, as is schematically presented in Figure C, during the gas phase photoxidation of styrene ,. Here, we also highlight the selective oxidation of benzaldehyde from benzyl alcohol which is particularly attractive considering that this alcohol can be contemplated as a model lignin compounds .…”

“…The final formation of g-valerolactone from levulinic acid was achieved by a sustainable procedure using visible-light energy and replacing hydrogen by formic acid, which is another biomass-derived entity. [196] Finally, the environmental aspect of the photocatalytic processes for the degradation of pollutants in both gas and liquid phase have been extensively studied. [147,155,160,197,198] These photodegradation processes show potential applicability mainly for low pollutant concentrations in which some of the conventional methods present relatively low efficiency.…”