Catalytic chemical processes for biomass conversion: Prospects for future biorefineries

Biomass is a renewable and abundant feedstock that is poised to become a future alternative to petroleum as the understanding and technology surrounding catalytic biomass conversion and biorefineries progresses. A relevant research avenue explored in recent years deals with biomass deconstruction into simpler compounds (platform chemicals) by overcoming its recalcitrant and complex structure and subsequently converting these building blocks into value-added chemicals, fuels and materials in a similar way to that of current refineries. This contribution is aimed at providing a short overview of biomass processing chemistry by illustrating some relevant examples of catalytic strategies for biorefineries.