Selected Key Chemicals

Among the renewable raw materials, cellulose is among the most abundant ones. In contrast to other carbohydrates, such as saccharose or starch cellulose, processing does not compete with food production. In the context of examples of the conversion of carbohydrates, the term cellulose may also include oligosaccharides and monosaccharides, such as sucrose or glucose. This is because cellulose conversion almost always includes a depolymerization to soluble fragments, which are further converted. 

More advantageous is the use of solids acids and especially bifunctional catalysts, exhibiting acid sites for hydrolysis in combination with a metal (Rh, Pt, Ru, and Ni) for hydrogenation, which can be used, in appropriate solvents, for the direct conversion of cellulose into value-added chemicals (e.g. sorbitol, mannitol, ethylene glycol, hydroxymethylfurfural, 2,5-dimethyltetrahydrofuran, levulinic acid, valerolactone, and isosorbide) [33 36]. 

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It is not the intention of this chapter to give an extensive review of the subject headlined but instead to discuss fundamentals, ways to select key chemicals, and, finally, examples for the current status of industrial chemical production from biomass. 

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