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Biomass has received significant attention as a sustainable feedstock that can replace diminishing fossil fuels in the production of value-added chemicals and energy. Many new catalytic technologies have been developed for the conversion of biomass feedstocks into valuable biofuels and bioproducts. However, many of these still suffer from several disadvantages, such as weak catalytic performance, harsh reaction conditions, a high processing cost, and questionable sustainability, which limit their further applicability/development in the immediate future. In this context, the esterification of carboxylic acids represents a very valuable solution to these problems, requiring mild reaction conditions and being advantageously integrable with many existing processes of biomass conversion. An emblematic example is the acid-catalyzed hydrothermal route for levulinic acid production, already upgraded to that of higher value alkyl levulinates, obtained by esterification or directly by biomass alcoholysis. Many other chemical processes benefit from esterification, such as the synthesis of biodiesel, which includes monoalkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids prepared from renewable vegetable oils and animal fats, or that of cellulose esters, mainly acetates, for textile uses. Even pyrolysis bio-oil should be stabilized by esterification to neutralize the acidity of carboxylic acids and moderate the reactivity of other typical biomass-derived compounds, such as sugars, furans, aldehydes, and phenolics. This Special Issue reports on the recent main advances in the homogeneous/heterogeneous catalytic conversion of model/real biomass components into ester derivatives that are extremely attractive for both the academic and industrial fields. Dr. Domenico Licursi Guest Editor

Research & information: general --- Chemistry --- eugenol --- acetylation --- flint kaolin --- mesoporous aluminosilicate --- functionalization --- heterogeneous catalysis --- n-butyl levulinate --- alcoholysis --- butanolysis --- Eucalyptus nitens --- microwaves --- biorefinery --- diesel blends --- process intensification --- hydrolysis --- solvothermal process --- alkyl levulinate --- levulinic acid --- 5-hydroxymethylfurfural --- furfural --- humins --- biomass ester derivatives --- solvothermal processing --- γ-valerolactone --- Ni-Fe bimetallic catalysts --- ABE fermentation --- Ni-MgO-Al2O3 catalyst --- biofuel --- catalytic performance --- sewage scum --- methyl (R)-10-hydroxystearate --- FAMEs --- biodiesel --- estolides --- cardoon --- waste biomass --- bio-fuels --- heterogeneous catalysts --- combustion --- PEG --- transesterification --- n/a

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• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Biomass has received significant attention as a sustainable feedstock that can replace diminishing fossil fuels in the production of value-added chemicals and energy. Many new catalytic technologies have been developed for the conversion of biomass feedstocks into valuable biofuels and bioproducts. However, many of these still suffer from several disadvantages, such as weak catalytic performance, harsh reaction conditions, a high processing cost, and questionable sustainability, which limit their further applicability/development in the immediate future. In this context, the esterification of carboxylic acids represents a very valuable solution to these problems, requiring mild reaction conditions and being advantageously integrable with many existing processes of biomass conversion. An emblematic example is the acid-catalyzed hydrothermal route for levulinic acid production, already upgraded to that of higher value alkyl levulinates, obtained by esterification or directly by biomass alcoholysis. Many other chemical processes benefit from esterification, such as the synthesis of biodiesel, which includes monoalkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids prepared from renewable vegetable oils and animal fats, or that of cellulose esters, mainly acetates, for textile uses. Even pyrolysis bio-oil should be stabilized by esterification to neutralize the acidity of carboxylic acids and moderate the reactivity of other typical biomass-derived compounds, such as sugars, furans, aldehydes, and phenolics. This Special Issue reports on the recent main advances in the homogeneous/heterogeneous catalytic conversion of model/real biomass components into ester derivatives that are extremely attractive for both the academic and industrial fields. Dr. Domenico Licursi Guest Editor

Research & information: general --- Chemistry --- eugenol --- acetylation --- flint kaolin --- mesoporous aluminosilicate --- functionalization --- heterogeneous catalysis --- n-butyl levulinate --- alcoholysis --- butanolysis --- Eucalyptus nitens --- microwaves --- biorefinery --- diesel blends --- process intensification --- hydrolysis --- solvothermal process --- alkyl levulinate --- levulinic acid --- 5-hydroxymethylfurfural --- furfural --- humins --- biomass ester derivatives --- solvothermal processing --- γ-valerolactone --- Ni-Fe bimetallic catalysts --- ABE fermentation --- Ni-MgO-Al2O3 catalyst --- biofuel --- catalytic performance --- sewage scum --- methyl (R)-10-hydroxystearate --- FAMEs --- biodiesel --- estolides --- cardoon --- waste biomass --- bio-fuels --- heterogeneous catalysts --- combustion --- PEG --- transesterification

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Applied biocatalysis and biotransformation, that is, the use of enzymes and whole-cell systems in manufacturing processes for synthetic purposes, has been experiencing a clear boom in recent years, which has led to the start of the so-called “fourth wave”. In fact, the latest advances in bioinformatics, system biology, process intensification, and, in particular, enzyme-directed evolution (encouraged by the 2018 Nobel Prize awarded to F. Arnold), are widening the range of the efficacy of biocatalysts and accelerating the rate at which new enzymes are becoming available, even for activities not previously known. European scientists have been very actively involved in different aspects of this field. Nine contributions dealing with different aspects of applied biocatalysis developed by European researchers are gathered in this Special Issue

biocatalysis --- glycosidases --- isomerases --- Pichia pastoris --- sweeteners --- rare sugars --- cheese whey --- sustainable chemistry --- penicillin acylase --- aculeacin acylase --- N-acyl-homoserine lactone acylases --- quorum quenching --- biofouling --- estolides --- castor oil --- lipase --- candida antarctica lipase A --- Arabidopsis thaliana --- hydroxynitrile lyase --- oxynitrilase --- His-tag --- immobilization --- batch --- continuous flow --- Geobacillus thermocatenolatus --- lipases --- ethanolysis --- ionic liquids --- kinetic resolution --- mandelic acid --- Aspergillus --- fermentation --- filamentous fungi --- genetic engineering --- heterologous expression --- recombinant protein --- secretion --- transcriptional regulation --- n/a --- Halohydrin dehalogenases --- conformational dynamics --- active site tunnels --- molecular dynamics simulations --- omega-3 ethyl esters --- monkfish liver oil --- COSMO-RS --- fungal resting cells --- selectivity --- ketone body ester --- asymmetric synthesis --- configuration inversion