An overview of the hydrolytic hydrogenation of lignocellulosic biomass using carbon-supported metal catalysts

Abstract

Because lignocellulosic biomass does not compete with food sources and is widely available as a low-cost renewable feedstock, it has drawn a lot of attention as one of the most attractive alternatives to replace fossil raw materials for the production of high added-value chemicals. Polyols such as sorbitol, xylitol, and ethylene glycol are three of the most important chemicals and can be converted into widely used products (e.g. in food and pharmaceutical industries, polymer synthesis, and so on). The heterogeneous catalytic conversion of renewable biomass into these compounds provides a safe and sustainable approach, where the one-pot hydrolytic hydrogenation has proven to be one of the most effective strategies for this purpose. Hence, this article summarizes the latest developments on the direct conversion of biomass for the catalytic production of polyols.