RECENT TRENDS IN CONVERSION OF C6-SUGARS INTO VALUE-ADDED CHEMICALS OVER SOLID CATALYSTS

In recent decades, the energy demand is ever increasing. Biomass energy is a viable option as an alternative due to reduced CO 2 emissions and depletion of fossil fuels at a faster rate. Therefore, the substitution of non-renewable fossil resources by renewable biomass as a sustainable feedstock has been focused on researchers to develop useful green fuels and other platform chemicals such as biofuels, commodity chemicals, and new bio-based materials. For the conversion of sugars, several methodologies have been investigated through chemocatalysis from plant-derived biomass feedstocks. This review critically overviewed the latest advancement regarding reaction conditions, product yields, and selectivity on the conversion of C 6 -sugars into important chemicals like 5- hydroxymethylfurfural, levulinic acid, lactic acid, formic acid, glyceraldehyde, 1,3-dihydroxyacetone and furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid, etc. This review describes green chemistry principles includes the main reactions used to convert renewable biomass into industrially important products that are applicable as raw materials with emphasis on preparative organic synthesis.