Biomass is an important feedstock for the renewable production of fuels, chemicals, and energy. As of 2005, over 3% of the total energy consumption in the United States was supplied by biomass, and it recently surpassed hydroelectric energy as the largest domestic source of renewable energy. Similarly, the European Union received 66.1% of its renewable energy from biomass, which thus surpassed the total combined contribution from hydropower, wind power, geothermal energy, and solar power. In addition to energy, the production of chemicals from biomass is also essential; indeed, the only renewable source of liquid transportation fuels is currently obtained from biomass.

The Catalytic Valorization of Lignin for the Production of Renewable Chemicals

2.5. Stabilization of IL Emulsions by Nanoparticles 2623 3. Hydrogenations in ILs 2623 3.1. Hydrogenation on IL-Stabilized Nanoparticles 2623 3.1.1. Hydrogenation of 1,3-Butadiene 2623 3.1.2. Hydrogenation of Alkenes and Arenes 2624 3.1.3. Hydrogenation of Ketones 2624 3.2. Homogeneous Catalytic Hydrogenation in ILs 2624 3.3. Hydrogenation of Functionalized ILs 2625 3.3.1. Selective Hydrogenation of Polymers 2625 3.4. Asymmetric Hydrogenations 2626 3.4.1. Enantioselective Hydrogenation 2626 3.5. Role of the ILs Purity in Hydrogenation Reactions 2628

Catalysis in ionic liquids

Hydrothermal technologies are broadly defined as chemical and physical transformations in high-temperature (200–600 °C), high-pressure (5–40 MPa) liquid or supercritical water. This thermochemical means of reforming biomass may have energetic advantages, since, when water is heated at high pressures a phase change to steam is avoided which avoids large enthalpic energy penalties. Biological chemicals undergo a range of reactions, including dehydration and decarboxylation reactions, which are influenced by the temperature, pressure, concentration, and presence of homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts. Several biomass hydrothermal conversion processes are in development or demonstration. Liquefaction processes are generally lower temperature (200–400 °C) reactions which produce liquid products, often called “bio-oil” or “bio-crude”. Gasification processes generally take place at higher temperatures (400–700 °C) and can produce methane or hydrogen gases in high yields.

/pdf/thermochemical-biofuel-production-in-hydrothermal-media-a-57itjyvhnt.pdf

Thermochemical biofuel production in hydrothermal media: A review of sub- and supercritical water technologies

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is widely used in almost all industrial areas, particularly in the chemical industry and environmental protection. The only degradation product of its use is water, and thus it has played a large role in environmentally friendly methods in the chemical industry. Hydrogen peroxide is produced on an industrial scale by the anthraquinone oxidation (AO) process. However, this process can hardly be considered a green method. It involves the sequential hydrogenation and oxidation of an alkylanthraquinone precursor dissolved in a mixture of organic solvents followed by liquid–liquid extraction to recover H2O2. The AO process is a multistep method that requires significant energy input and generates waste, which has a negative effect on its sustainability and production costs. The transport, storage, and handling of bulk H2O2 involve hazards and escalating expenses. Thus, novel, cleaner methods for the production of H2O2 are being explored. The direct synthesis of H2O2 from O2 and H2 using a variety of catalysts, and the factors influencing the formation and decomposition of H2O2 are examined in detail in this Review.

http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/files.php?pid=171164&aid=9838

Hydrogen Peroxide Synthesis: An Outlook beyond the Anthraquinone Process

Recent advances in transition metal catalyzed oxidation of organic substrates with molecular oxygen.

Existing phenol production processes tend to be energy-consuming and produce unwanted by-products. We report an efficient process using a shell-and-tube reactor, in which a gaseous mixture of benzene and oxygen is fed into a porous alumina tube coated with a palladium thin layer and hydrogen is fed into the shell. Hydrogen dissociated on the palladium layer surface permeates onto the back and reacts with oxygen to give active oxygen species, which attack benzene to produce phenol. This one-step process attained phenol formation selectivities of 80 to 97% at benzene conversions of 2 to 16% below 250°C (phenol yield: 1.5 kilograms per kilogram of catalyst per hour at 150°C).

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/295/5552/105.full.pdf

A one-step conversion of benzene to phenol with a palladium membrane.

La deshydrogenation du cyclohexane en benzene et hydrogene est une reaction reversible; pour obtenir une reaction complete, on utilise une membrane de palladium pour separer l'hydrogene au fur et a mesure de sa formation

A membrane reactor using palladium

Development of tubular substrates, silica based membranes and membrane modules for hydrogen separation at high temperature

Hydrogen production from the gasification of lignin with nickel catalysts in supercritical water

All electron scalar relativistic calculations on adsorption of CO on Pt(1 1 1) with full-geometry optimization: a correct estimation for CO site-preference

Naotsugu Itoh

Papers

A one-step conversion of benzene to phenol with a palladium membrane.

A membrane reactor using palladium

Development of tubular substrates, silica based membranes and membrane modules for hydrogen separation at high temperature

Hydrogen production from the gasification of lignin with nickel catalysts in supercritical water

All electron scalar relativistic calculations on adsorption of CO on Pt(1 1 1) with full-geometry optimization: a correct estimation for CO site-preference