Organocatalytic upgrading of biomass-derived furaldehydes: An emerging chemical technology for biorefineries

Abstract

Identifying novel and highly efficient catalytic processes for biomass to commercially important products is crucial to find economically friendly options for biorefineries. Despite decades of efforts, several chemical biomass-to-useful product conversion processes still lack the potential to overcome economic barriers. Organocatalysis is one of the most suitable options for biorefineries considering the natural presence of many powerful and variety of organocatalysts, lower toxicity associated with organocatalysts and an easy tuning of the organocatalytic activity through chemical modifications. Using selected examples of organocatalytic conversion of furaldehydes, this article reviews the organocatalysts and organocatalytic processes that can be used at biorefineries to improve the economic feasibility and sustainability of the production of value-added products from renewable biomass. This review provides new insights and directions toward the development of practically efficient, accessible, and economically viable conversion technologies.

Graphical abstract

Keywords:

• Biomass
• biorefinery
• furaldehydes
• green chemistry
• organocatalysis
• waste-to-energy

Acknowledgment

RRS and ST are thankful for the facilities provided by BS Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Authors’ contributions

RRS: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing- Original draft preparation, Resources, Writing- Reviewing and Editing. ST: Resources, Scheme, Reviewing, Validation.