13 - Levulinic acid: perspectives of its biobased production and most promising derivatives

Abstract

Global warming and many other environmental impacts caused by the indiscriminate use of fossil resources are pushing the planet toward an irreversible situation. In recent decades, researchers have been working arduously to develop renewable and low-toxicity alternatives to supply, at least partially, the demands of the chemical industry. Levulinic acid can be easily and efficiently produced from lignocellulosic biomass and is a key molecule that can be converted into a myriad of other compounds that have important industrial demand. This chapter presents an up-to-date overview of the recent progress in research and development dealing with the production of levulinic acid from lignocellulosic biomass, considering the main bottlenecks of the upstream and downstream processes. The most relevant derivatives that can be prepared from levulinic acid are also considered, that is, angelica lactones, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, δ-aminolevulinic acid, γ-valerolactone, levulinate esters, diols, among others.