Selective Oxidation and Hydrogenolysis of Biorenewable Molecules Over Noble Metal Catalysts

The highly-functionalized molecules produced in future biorefineries will likely require some form of catalytic conversion prior to utilization in existing chemical processes. For example, glycerol formed during biodiesel synthesis and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) produced from sugar dehydration represent two potentially important biorenewable chemical feedstocks. This presentation will highlight recent results on Au-catalyzed selective oxidation of glycerol and HMF to mono and diacids as well as Pt-catalyzed hydrogenolysis of glycerol to various C2 and C3 compounds. The effects of catalyst composition, solution pH and other reaction conditions will be discussed.