Abstract
This chapter introduces the chemical and physical properties of water under high temperature and pressure, such as ion product, density, dielectric constant and hydrogen bonding, and the applications of these properties on biomass conversion. These properties that are adjustable by changing the reaction temperature and pressure or adding additives are central to the reactivity of the biomass feedstock to break the C–C or C–O bonds. For example, glucose will follow different reaction pathways under acidic or alkali environment which is related to the ion product of water. Presently, hundreds of strategies utilizing these properties to transform biomass into target products intentionally or unintentionally are proposed. In this chapter, the hydrothermal processes applied in the conversion of biomass including cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin and glycerin into commodity chemicals such as organic acids are mainly reviewed. In addition, the production of CO2 as a byproduct from biomass conversion is sometimes inevitable. To achieve 100 % carbon yield, the process of reduction of CO2 is often neglected but required. In the last section, the one pot reaction of glycerin conversion and CO2 reduction is reviewed based on the hydrogen bonding property.
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