Francesco Brandi

Beta zeolite and water as a solvent enables the single, selective O-demethylation of syringol toward, methoxy catechols, a novel building block family.

Catalytic chemical depolymerisation is an emerging technology to recycle synthetic textiles and ultimately to enable a circular textile economy. Homogeneous and heterogeneous systems are reviewed.

Lignin represents the largest aromatic carbon resource in plants, holding significant promise as a renewable feedstock for bioaromatics and other cyclic hydrocarbons in the context of the circular bioeconomy. However, the methoxy groups of aryl methyl ethers, abundantly found in technical lignins and lignin‐derived chemicals, limit their pertinent chemical reactivity and broader applicability. Unlocking the phenolic hydroxyl functionality through O‐demethylation (ODM) has emerged as a valuable approach to mitigate this need and enables further applications. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the progress in the valorization of technical lignin and lignin‐derived chemicals via ODM, both catalytic and non‐catalytic reactions. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the properties and potential applications of the O‐demethylated products is presented, accompanied by a systematic overview of available ODM reactions. This review primarily focuses on enhancing the phenolic hydroxyl content in lignin‐derived species through ODM, showcasing its potential in the catalytic funneling of lignin and value‐added applications. A comprehensive synopsis and future outlook are included in the concluding section of this review.

Lignin represents the largest aromatic carbon resource in plants, holding significant promise as a renewable feedstock for bioaromatics and other cyclic hydrocarbons in the context of the circular bioeconomy. However, the methoxy groups of aryl methyl ethers, abundantly found in technical lignins and lignin‐derived chemicals, limit their pertinent chemical reactivity and broader applicability. Unlocking the phenolic hydroxyl functionality through O‐demethylation (ODM) has emerged as a valuable approach to mitigate this need and enables further applications. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the progress in the valorization of technical lignin and lignin‐derived chemicals via ODM, both catalytic and non‐catalytic reactions. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the properties and potential applications of the O‐demethylated products is presented, accompanied by a systematic overview of available ODM reactions. This review primarily focuses on enhancing the phenolic hydroxyl content in lignin‐derived species through ODM, showcasing its potential in the catalytic funneling of lignin and value‐added applications. A comprehensive synopsis and future outlook are included in the concluding section of this review.

The use of flow-through (FT) systems in the lignin-first approach can improve the proficiency of the process. Herein, the reductive catalytic fractionation of beech wood sawdust was conducted in an FT system using 35Ni/NDC pellets.

Isosorbide is one of the most interesting cellulosic‐derived molecules with great potential to be implemented in wide range of products that shaping our daily life. This Review describes the recent developments in the production of isosorbide from sorbitol in batch and continuous‐flow systems under hydrothermal conditions using solid acid catalysts. Moreover, the current hurdles and challenges regarding the synthesis of isosorbide from cellulosic biomass in continuous‐flow process using solid acid catalysts are summarized, as well as the scaling‐up of this process into pilot level, which will lead to an established industrial process with high sustainability metrics.

This study presents an efficient and controlled catalytic valorization of a real side product of the agroforestry industry, i.e. , sodium lignosulfonate (LS), in a continuous flow system to either monomers or oligomers.