Catalytic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into chemicals and fuels

In the search of alternative resources to make commodity chemicals and transportation fuels for a low carbon future,lignocellulosic biomass with over 180-billion-ton annual production rate has been identified as a promising feedstock.This review focuses on the state-of-the-art catalytic transformation of lignocellulosic biomass into value-added chemicals and fuels.Following a brief introduction on the structure,major resources and pretreatment methods of lignocellulosic biomass,the catalytic conversion of three main components,i.e.,cellulose,hemicellulose and lignin,into various compounds are comprehensively discussed.Either in separate steps or in one-pot,cellulose and hemicellulose are hydrolyzed into sugars and upgraded into oxygen-containing chemicals such as 5-HMF,furfural,polyols,and organic acids,or even nitrogen-containing chemicals such as amino acids.On the other hand,lignin is first depolymerized into phenols,catechols,guaiacols,aldehydes and ketones,and then further transformed into hydrocarbon fuels,bioplastic precursors and bioactive compounds.The review then introduces the transformations of whole biomass via catalytic gasification,catalytic pyrolysis,as well as emerging strategies.Finally,opportunities,challenges and prospective of woody biomass valorization are highlighted.

Cost projections for microwave plasma CO production using renewable energy

Successful deployment of renewable fuel production requires substantial cost reduction along the entire value chain of the underlying manufacturing routes.To improve their performance,renewable fuel production technologies should follow a cost-reducing learning curve.In this article,we adopt recent evidence that learning-by-doing is directly influenced by the technology unit size and explore three scenarios for microwave plasma CO_(2)conversion in which the learning rate varies between 10%,15%,and 20%.Our projections reveal that the total investments required to deploy this CO_(2)conversion technology at an exajoule scale decline from 83 down to 23 billion euros under a 10%increase in the value of the learning rate.The CO_(2) production costs in 2050 amount to 247–346€(2019)/t CO_(2),in which the range is determined by the value of the learning rate.Even under substantial learning until 2050 the levelized CO production cost is unlikely to become competitive with conventional natural gas-based CO_(2) production processes,except when a CO_(2)tax is applied of up to 150€(2019)/t CO_(2).To optimally exploit effects of learning-by-doing,we recommend developing several CO production technologies simultaneously with multiple unit sizes,so as to improve the chance of ultimately selecting the process with the highest learning rate.

Research perspectives for catalytic valorization of biomass

Efficient utilization of biomass for the supply of energy and synthetic materials would mitigate the heavy reliance on fossil resources and the growing CO_(2) emission, thus contributing to establishing sustainable and carbon–neutral societies. Much effort has been devoted to catalytic transformations of lignocellulosic biomass, the most abundant and nonedible form of biomass.