Biomass valorization: Catalytic approaches using benign-by-design nanomaterials

Research on biomass valorization approaches demands endeavors from the scientific community, looking forward to more sustainable and renewable alternatives to the petro-based industry. In this regard, the group FQM-383 (NANOVAL), from University of Cordoba has dedicated many efforts, going from conventional heating approaches to continuous flow strategies, and to the use of unconventional technologies such as microwave and ultrasound irradiations. Moreover, investigations on biomimetic catalysis and photocatalysis have been also directed to the upgrading a biomass residues and derived platform molecules. Importantly, the investigations performed by our research group consider atom, cost and energy efficiency of a process, involving renewable feedstocks and catalytic steps. © 2021 Elsevier Inc.