**Abstract**

Rapid industrialization has led to development of various platform chemicals and fossil fuel refinery is one of the mainstreams for their production. However continuous depletion of fossil fuels reserves has led an urge to look for alternate source of feedstocks. Among various renewable sources, biomass is found to be most sustainable as it is replaced naturally. Biomass by virtue of its nature is comprised of various recalcitrant polymers and cellulose is one of them, which can be used for the generation of various platform chemicals. This chapter gives a background of cellulose and illustrate platform chemicals that can be produced from cellulose.

**Keywords:** cellulose, renewable resources, biomass, glucose, value-added products

### **1. Introduction**

Till date most platform chemicals were produced from petroleum refinery where crude oil is converted into fuels and chemicals that provide multiple products and revenue streams but depletion of fossil fuels and global warming are the two major concerns in chemical manufacturing. These concerns have led to the utilization of renewable resources such as biomass as an alternative feedstock for the development of Biorefinery [1]. Biorefineries are facilities that convert renewable biomass into biofuels, chemicals, and materials such as plastics and polymers [2]. The products developed in biorefinery are usually called bioproducts because it is based on the sustainable manufacture of products from biomass, this encompasses all processes, from feedstock production and supply to processing stages and end product manufacturing, as well as research, development, and commercialization procedures. The advantage of renewable resources over fossil fuels is that renewable resources can be replaced over time by natural processes. Moreover, complying green chemistry principle these renewable resources-based methods are also environmental benign. The global market for biorefinery products, by application includes industrial, manufacturing, transportation, flame retardants, safe food and supply, environment, communication, construction/housing, recreation, agriculture, health and hygiene, and energy. As an estimate, the worldwide market for biorefinery products would increase from \$586.8 billion in 2020 to \$867.7 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1 percent from 2020 to 2025 [3].

The main raw material for a biorefinery is the plant biomass, whose structural carbohydrate polymers (cellulose and hemicellulose) can be used to develop a

#### **Figure 1.** *Platform chemicals that are produced from biomass (cellulose).*

variety of platform chemicals. The Department of Energy (DOE) of the United States (US) discovered 12 platform chemicals that can be produced from cellulose in biomass: 1,4-diacids (succinic, fumaric, and malic), 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, aspartic acid, glucaric acid, glutamic acid, itaconic acid, levulinic acid, hydroxybutyrolactone, glycerol, sorbitol, and xylitol/arabinitol [4]. A brief outline of the platform chemicals that are produced from biomass (cellulose) is illustrated in **Figure 1**.

The application of platform chemicals which makes them very interesting for industrial purpose. In the following section the focus will be on the cellulose, various pre-treatment used in biomass, more information about the platform chemicals and how they are produced from biomass, examples of platform chemicals produced from biomass.

### **2. Cellulose**

Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a stable crystalline homopolysaccharide polymer composed of the anhydroglucopyranose monomers formed via β-1,4-D-glucose linkage of carbohydroglucose units and contains several intra and intramolecular hydrogen bonds as well as intermolecular van der Waals forces [5]. Cellulose is insoluble in water and unlikely to be dissolve in most organic solvents due to the strong intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonds which increases the rigidity [6]. Natural cellulose molecules are bundle of microfibrils (i.e, crystalline and amorphous regions) that are stabilized by hydrogen bonds between hydroxyl groups [7]. **Figure 2** shows the structure of one chain of the polymer cellulose [8].

**Figure 2.** *Chemical structure of cellulose [8].*
