Mini-Review on the Synthesis of Furfural and Levulinic Acid from Lignocellulosic Biomass

Efficient conversion of renewable biomass into value-added chemicals and biofuels is regarded as an alternative route to reduce our high dependence on fossil resources and the associated environmental issues. In this context, biomass-based furfural and levulinic acid (LA) platform chemicals are frequently utilized to synthesize various valuable chemicals and biofuels. In this review, the reaction mechanism and catalytic system developed for the generation of furfural and levulinic acid are summarized and compared. Special efforts are focused on the different catalytic systems for the synthesis of furfural and levulinic acid. The corresponding challenges and outlooks are also observed.