ABSTRACT
The production of bio-based chemicals-is it the new future or are we looking at the return of an old strategy? Certainly, the world is changing its chemistry backbone as it has become apparent that the current fossil-based source of almost all carbon will run out on the long term. Although there may still be in the order of a century for oil and natural gas and several centuries for coal, other factors such as the developing insights in the role of CO2 on the changing climate of our planet may speed up the transgression to a fully bio-based society. Many countries have set programs in place for the sustainable growth, harvesting, and conversion of locally produced biomass into renewable fuels and chemicals. Not all biomass is the same, and it is typically classied into three major groups: lignocellulosics or woody biomass (the nonedible portion of biomass, e.g., bagasse, corn stover, grasses, wood), amorphous sugars (e.g., starch, glucose), and triglycerides (e.g., vegetable oil). Other important groups are rosins, crude tall oils, terpenes, and proteins, which also attract interest.
