Plants and residues into chemicals: what has been done and what we can improve.

What is it about?

Biomass (plants, municipal waste, agro-residues) can be transformed into valuable products for everyday use (for example, plastics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, gasoline). Although some industrial processes already exist to date, further innovation to achieve higher sustainability and efficient processes is still required. Herein, a focus on the catalytic conversions of biomass molecules and products, as well as some strategies for improvement, is given in order to elucidate the challenges but also the advantages of these processes.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Petroleum is still the main source of various chemicals up to date. However, continuing to use to source contributes to higher pollution levels (ex. carbon dioxide levels), change in the climate conditions, and also international relations issues. Also, petroleum is a non-renewable source, meaning that our current processes will require a drastic change when petroleum will not be available. On the other hand, using renewable resources (solar, biomass, wind, geothermal energy) will reduce the world's pollution levels, as well as allow the implementation of these sources also in countries still developing. In particular, biomass (plants and residues) has the potential to produce various traditional petroleum-type chemicals, but also new products that can have better overall performance. Living in a sustainable world will allow a lot of countries to thrive, but also to protect our precious Earth for all future generations.

Perspectives