Nonenzymatically catalyzing conversion of hemicelluloses into energy and high-value chemicals

The conversion of hemicelluloses into energy and high-value chemicals by nonenzymatically catalyzing technology has the technical and economic feasibility.This article briefly introduces the recent developments in the research of the nonenzymatically catalyzing technology including hydrothermal conversion,microwave-assisted conversion,ionic liquid-catalyzed conversion and composite catalyst-catalyzed conversion for conversing hemicelluloses into bioenergy such as ethanol,butanediol and high-value chemicals such as furfural,acid,furan and so on.The nonenzymatically catalyzing technology overcomes the disadvantages of traditional enzymatically catalyzing technology such as the harsh reaction condition and the high enzyme cost,but some problems still exist,such as high requirement on equipment,no clear mechanism of reaction and low selectivity.Therefore,an in-depth investigation into the reaction mechanism and the improvement on reaction conditions needs to be considered in the future research.