title: Catalytic conversion of renewable biomass resources to fuels and chemicals.
abstract: Lignocellulosic biomass is renewable and cheap, and it has the potential to displace fossil fuels in the production of fuels and chemicals. Biomass-derived carboxylic acids are important compounds that can be used as platform molecules for the production of a variety of important chemicals on a large scale. Lactic acid, a prototypical biomass derivative, and levulinic acid, an important chemical feedstock produced by hydrolysis of waste cellulosic materials, can be upgraded using bifunctional catalysts (those containing metal and acid sites), which allows the integration of several transformations (e.g., oxygen removal and C-C coupling) in a single catalyst bed. This coupling between active sites is beneficial in that it reduces the complexity and cost of the biomass conversion processes. Deoxygenation of biomass derivatives is a requisite step for the production of fuels and chemicals, and strategies are proposed to minimize the consumption of hydrogen from an external source during this process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA. serranoruiz@wisc.edu
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Serrano-Ruiz
authors.forename: Ryan M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dumesic
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels; D018533:Biomass; D002384:Catalysis; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D007982:Levulinic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D007982:Levulinic Acids; D019344:Lactic Acid; C032246:levulinic acid; D010100:Oxygen