Advances in the Catalytic Conversion of Biomass Components to Ester Derivatives: Challenges and Opportunities
A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomass Catalysis".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 28328
Special Issue Editor
Interests: biomass conversion; solvothermal/hydrothermal biomass processing; homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis; ester derivatives; biofuels and biochemicals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Biomass has received significant attention as a sustainable feedstock that can replace diminishing fossil fuels for the production of value-added chemicals and energy. Many new catalytic technologies have been developed for the conversion of biomass feedstocks into valuable biofuels and bioproducts. However, many of these still suffer from several disadvantages, such as weak catalytic performances, harsh reaction conditions, a high processing cost, and questionable sustainability, which limit their further applicability/development in the immediate future. In this context, the esterification of carboxylic acids represents a very valuable solution to these problems, requiring mild reaction conditions, and being advantageously integrable with many existing processes of biomass conversion. An emblematic example is the acid-catalyzed hydrothermal route for levulinic acid production, already upgraded to that of higher value alkyl levulinates, obtained by esterification or directly by biomass alcoholysis. Many other chemical processes benefit from esterification, such as the synthesis of bio-diesel, which includes mono-alkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids prepared from renewable vegetable oils and animal fats, or that of cellulose esters, mainly acetates, for textile uses. Even pyrolysis bio-oil should be stabilized by esterification to neutralize the acidity of carboxylic acids and moderate the reactivity of other typical biomass-derived compounds, such as sugars, furans, aldehydes, and phenolics.
This Special Issue reports the main recent advances in the homogeneous/heterogeneous catalytic conversion of model/real biomass components to ester derivatives, which are extremely attractive for both the academic and industrial fields.
Dr. Domenico LicursiGuest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Catalysts is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- Biomass conversion
- Biofuels and biochemical
- Biomass ester derivatives
- Solvothermal processing
- Homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis
- Carboxylic acid esterification
- Alkyl levulinates
- Biodiesel
- Cellulose esters
- Bio-oil esterification
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.