Levulinic Acid

An essential overview of this renewable platform chemical with growing commercial applications

Use of fossil fuels and their derivatives has been one of the major drivers of climate change. This ongoing crisis has driven a global search for biofuels and biomass-derived chemicals which can serve as the basis for sustainable and renewable industry. One such ‘platform molecule’ is levulinic acid, whose derivatives are increasingly replacing traditional fossil-derived chemicals. The importance of levulinic acid for renewable industry is therefore only growing.

Levulinic Acid: A Sustainable Platform Chemical for Value-Added Products provides a book-length introduction to this chemical and its derivatives, like the levulinates, for which applications include fuel additives, food and cosmetic preservatives, flavors, solvents, and more. The book surveys the production routes and necessary technologies involved in the production of levulinic acid, as well as its current and potential applications and typical chemical reactions. It provides a critical introduction to a potentially rich source of alternative industrial material.

Levulinic Acid readers will also find:

• Production routes from different biomass materials
• Treatment of both organic and inorganic levulinates
• Extensive discussion of levulinic acid hydrogenation
• Other derivatives formed upon reaction at the keto-functionality

Levulinic Acid is the first book on this subject, ideal for researchers and industry professionals in green chemistry and sustainable/renewable production, as well as regulators and policymakers with a focus on the relevant industries.