Abstract
Levulinic acid (LA) or 4-oxopentanoic acid is a promising “platform chemical” that can be obtained from renewable biofeedstocks in a cost-effective way via catalytic processes. The presence of both carboxylic acid and keto functional groups makes LA a potential starting material to synthesize useful chemicals. Succinic acid, diphenolic acid, pentanol, 1,4-pentanediol, 5-nonanone, 5-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and pentanoic acid are important chemicals that could be obtained from LA, which find applications as plasticizers, flavoring agents, solvents, monomers, etc. γ-Valerolactone, methyltetrahydrofuran, valeric acid esters, alkyl levulinates, and hydrocarbons are some of the fuels or fuel additives that could be derived from LA. This chapter throws light on the latest developments in effective transformation of LA into these useful compounds and provides an overview of the methods and catalysts used for such transformations.
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