Chemo-Catalytic Conversion of Glucose to Biobased Chemicals over Metallosilicate Catalysts

The pressing impact of climate change is forcing our species to rethink the way we live our day-to-day lives. The rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere have been strongly correlated to the emissions generated from energy production, and as society seeks alternate energy sources, the influence that petrochemicals once held would seem to be in decline. However, carbon is still essential to feed the chemicals market. It forms the backbone of almost all molecular structures used in commercial goods, so it is clear it still needs to be provided from somewhere. Although the petrochemical industry fights to continue sourcing the market by reconfiguring its processing techniques, its non-renewable nature and poor recyclability necessitates a replacement for a sustainable future. Biomass, organically derived carbonaceous matter, is believed to be the most promising alternative for a fully integrated circular economy.
Its highly diverse geographical distribution combined with its abundance and ability to produce a diverse plethora of platform molecules are just some of the reasons behind the widespread interest. Nonetheless, several challenges still exist in generating products from these feedstocks. The highly topical discussion regarding land use for food vs fuels is currently prohibiting the mass adoption of biochemicals sourced from microbially catalysed processes. In response, there has been much research covering the application of 2nd generation feedstocks. Predominantly composed of lignocellulosic substrates, these feedstocks offer an alternate route to the production of glucose streams that can be sourced from by-products of the agricultural industry. However, given the more recalcitrant nature of this feedstock, harsher pre-processing conditions are required. This typically results in conditions unsuitable for biological processes due to the spectra of inhibitory
substances that remain in the feed. Resultingly, greater attention has been given to the importance of chemocatalytic upgrading routes for these process streams.