ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that water at high temperature possesses the properties very similar to several organic chemicals and is capable of carrying out various types of organic chemical reactions. It describes yet another selective process to generate hydrogen, syngas, alkanes, and monofunctional groups using low-pressure catalytic process in an aqueous environment. The chapter examines a set of catalytic reactions that can be carried out for a select group of oxygenated compounds such as sugar, glucose, sorbitol, glycerol, ethylene glycol, and methanol to produce hydrogen, syngas, lower alkanes, and various monofunctional groups. The pioneering work carried out by J. Dumesic et al. showed that carbohydrates such as sugars (e.g., glucose) and polyols such as methanol, ethylene glycol, glycerol, and sorbitol can be efficiently converted to hydrogen and carbon dioxide at 500 K by reforming under aqueous conditions. Typical feedstock that can be used for aqueous-phase reforming and bioforming process are listed.
