Abstract：

 

The limited supply of fossil resources forces us to find new ways toward fuels, energy and chemicals. Processes for the production of chemicals from biomass have been developed recently that can already compete with current fossil based products. In the lecture the routes from biomass to bulk chemicals (Adipic acid, caprolactam) via the platform chemicals levulinic acid and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) will be described.

These platform chemicals are derived from C-6 sugars in lignocellulose. However, lignocellulose also contains between 20-40% of lignin. Thus, it is also of great interest to develop new chemistry that would allow the isolation of aromatic chemicals from lignin in isolable quantities