James A. Dumesic’s research while affiliated with University of Wisconsin–Madison and other places

... 49 Plasma-assisted catalysis for MTM 50 and CH 4 -to-HCN 18 and bimetallic molten salt catalysts in MP 51,52 demonstrated improved performance. The 2020s have emphasized sustainability: B 2 O 3 catalysts for CH 4 -to-HCOH conversion, 8 CH 4to-ACN to reduce energy demands, 15 Cu catalysts for CH 4 -to-HCN, 19 modeling tools for SRM 53 and ARM 54 optimization, DAM catalyst regeneration, 55 Cu-site stoichiometry optimization for MTM, 56 and low temperature plasma-assisted MP. 57 This review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis, with a primary emphasis on the latest advancements and cutting-edge innovations in the field of catalytic CH 4 conversion methods. It also aims to elucidate critical parameters and advantages, and address the intricate array of limitations, challenges, and prospective avenues within this domain. ...

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Innovative Catalysis Approaches for Methane Utilization

... The carbohydrate polymers in lignocellulosic biomass are cellulose and hemicellulose, which contain glucoside units with high carbon content and are a leading resource for environmentally friendly and reducing sugar production (Fujimoto et al. 2024). Reducing sugars are essential for producing valueadded commodity chemicals such as polymers, gasoline additives, drug substances, and dyestuff (Gyngazova et al. 2017;West et al. 2008;Chang et al. 2024). Hydrolysis is a crucial step in the conversion process of using cellulosic biomass to produce reducing sugars. ...

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Cellulase entrapment in calcium alginate hydrogel beads for improved reusability and hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass

... Among the valuable products, sorbic acid and its salt, potassium sorbate (KS), are widely utilized in the food and pharmaceutical industries as antimicrobial preservatives [13,14]. Our team recently demonstrated a catalytic method for the synthesis of KS from TAL [15]. Fig. 1(B) illustrates the previous approach for producing TALderived KS. ...

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Catalytic Production of Biomass-Based Food Preservative in Food-Grade Solvents

... This suggested accompanying the increase of pH value the number of H + ions in solution occupying the binding sites of B44 CPS might be evacuated. For example, the -NH 2 group present in CPSs undertook protonation at pH < 4, and the degree of protonation increased with the decrease of pH value ( −NH 2 + H + ⇋ −NH 3 + ) [40], along with the electrostatic interactions within and between CPS molecules also decreased ( −COOH ⇋ −COO − +H + ) [41,42], which would compete with metal ions for binding site. Conversely, the adsorption of Pb(II) by CPS remained at relatively high level at the pH values ranged 4.0-6.0. ...

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Capsular Polysaccharides Are Crucial for the Biosorption of Aqueous Pb(II) Ions by Limosilactobacillus fermentum B44 In Vitro

... The contribution of crystalline cellulose in biomass samples can be followed by measuring the relative areas of C4 signals and also of C6 signals. Recently, Gilcher et al. [27] followed the evolution of cellulose microfibril in the enzymatic hydrolysis process through the deconvolution of the C4 signal into distinct sites. In the present work, C4 and C6 signals were not decomposed. ...

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Influence of Planetary Ball Milling Pretreatment on Lignocellulose Structure

... The interaction between the solid support and the organocatalyst [113], reactants [114], product [115] or solvent [116] can significantly impact catalytic activity. These interactions often manifest in various forms of adsorption: physisorption, involving forces like van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding, or chemisorption, which may involve ionic or covalent bonding. ...

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Factors influencing the performance of organocatalysts immobilised on solid supports: A review

... Lignin, as a major component of biomass, ranks among the most abundant natural renewable resources and possesses various aromatic structures [12][13][14]. In cellular walls of plants, lignin is mainly derived from three precursors (p-coumaryl, coniferyl, and sinapyl alcohol), forming various linkages of phenylpropane units (β O 4, β 5, β β, and so on), therefore constructing a natural polymer with complicated functional groups of aromatic rings, phenolic hydroxyl groups (Ar OH), aliphatic hydroxyl groups ( OH), methoxyl groups ( OCH 3 ), carbonyl groups ( C O), carboxyl groups ( COOH), and so forth [15][16][17][18][19]. Phenolic hydroxyls serve as common and critical reaction sites for polymerization and material preparation. ...

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Phenolic Hydroxyl‐Activated Lignin for Preparation of Extreme Environments Adaptive Adhesives

... Lactose can be hydrolyzed to produce a sweetening syrup containing galactose, glucose, and lactose. [29] Therefore, there is significant interest in further upcycling whey and its derived compounds. Galactose can be isomerized to tagatose using L-arabinose isomerase produced by microbial strains. ...

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Production of Tagatose from Galactose with CaO at Room Temperature

... Synthesizing heavy distillate-range fuels through ethanol upgrading represents a market opportunity that the bioethanol industry needs to maintain its participation in the energy sector. 7 Recently, our group developed a three-stage process to produce diesel fuel 8,9 through catalytic upgrading of ethanol that encompasses the: (1) catalytic oligomerization of ethanol into longer chain alcohols through Guerbet coupling chemistry, 10,11 (2) hydrogenation of byproducts generated in the first reactor (mainly esters, aldehydes, and ketones) into alcohols, 12 and (3) bimolecular dehydration of the alcohols mixture over an acid catalyst to produce a blend of long-chain ethers. 13,14 We initially used hydroxyapatite (HAP) as the catalyst for ethanol conversion, 15,16 but later switched to a Cu/MgAlO x catalyst. ...

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Kinetic and process modeling of Guerbet coupling chemistry over Cu–Mg–Al mixed oxides

... As a potential way to replace traditional H2-mediated hydrogenation reactions, catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) employs renewable and liquid organic hydrogen donors (e.g., alcohols, formic acid, etc.) so that the experimental operation can refrain from the use of high-pressure hydrogen, which can shorten the complexity and cost of experimental stride, and, thus, has lately attracted enormous attention in biomass conversion, as has been noted in many excellent articles [4,19,20]. Because hydrogenation reactions involve the conversion of hydroxyl, aldehyde and furan groups in the presence of hydrogen molecules, including C=O and C=C hydrogenation, decarbonation, and C-O and C-C hydrogenolysis, HMF hydrogenation provides a number of reaction pathways [15,[21][22][23]. Catalytic hydrogenation and hydrolysis reactions have been extensively researched because they can effectively reduce the oxygen content in furans, like other biomass-derived platform molecules. ...

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Advances in Selective Hydrogenation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural over Heterogeneous Metal Catalysts