Catalytic Strategies for Levoglucosenone Production by Pyrolysis of Cellulose and Lignocellulosic Biomass

Levoglucosenone (LGO) is a biobased compound that is generated during the pyrolysis of cellulose under catalysis. After several decades of foundational research into production methods, the relatively large-scale industrial production of LGO recently commenced. As a result, research on the application of LGO has increased and extended to the production of commodity chemicals, such as solvents, polymers, resins, and fuels, with LGO as the feedstock, while seeking to minimize production costs. An analysis and summary of previous achievements can help to inform the development of better production methods. We found that existing production methods can be organized into three categories depending on the strategies for exploiting catalysis. This minireview summarizes advances in the technologies used to produce LGO based on each catalytic strategy and recommends possible directions for future research by drawing on knowledge synthesized from the database.