Jonathan Gro߆
a,
Caroline Grundke†
a,
Johannes Rocker†
a,
Anthony J. Arduengo III
*b and
Till Opatz
*a
aDepartment of Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Duesbergweg 10-14, 55128, Mainz, Germany. E-mail: opatz@uni-mainz.de
bSchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, USA. E-mail: aj@ajarduengo.net
First published on 27th August 2021
This article surveys a range of important platform and high value chemicals that may be considered primary and secondary ‘xylochemicals’. A summary of identified xylochemical substances and their natural sources is provided in tabular form. In detail, this review is meant to provide useful assistance for the consideration of potential synthetic strategies using xylochemicals, new methodologies and the development of potentially sustainable, xylochemistry-based processes. It should support the transition from petroleum-based approaches and help to move towards more sustainability within the synthetic community. This feasible paradigm shift is demonstrated with the total synthesis of natural products and active pharmaceutical ingredients as well as the preparation of organic molecules suitable for potential industrial applications.
To date, petrochemical feedstocks such as natural gas, coal and petroleum are the fundament for the majority of all chemical raw materials, that may lead to carbon imbalance in the ecosphere (besides depletion of underground deposits) and ecological risks in terms of production. Some of the potential consequences like alterations in vegetation and soil, changes in the composition of the atmosphere and global water balance may have already emerged in the late 20th century.4 The result has been a paradigm shift recorded in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in 1992.5 Based on this, Anastas and Warner developed their well-known 12 principles of green chemistry6,7 in 1998, which evolved as general guidelines for more eco-friendly methodologies, syntheses, technologies and processes over the past 20 years.8–10 Additionally, more metrics and terms have been developed in the early 1990s to describe the extent of sustainability as well as the “greenness” of a given reaction.11 For example, Trost's Atom Economy concept describes the molar mass ratio of the desired product and the total sum of all molecular masses of all the substances produced according to the chemical equation.12–14 This was followed by the Environmental Factor (E-Factor) by Sheldon, indicating the environmental impact of a given process by describing the mass ratio of total waste and product production.15–19 Even though the earliest available sources for pure organic compounds were animals, microorganisms and plants, the 19th and 20th century were dominated by the exploitation of fossil carbon sources for the emerging chemical industry.20,21 Since the last 30 years, the need for renewable resources and especially for alternative carbon atom sources is constantly growing, displaying one of the major aspects of the field of Green Chemistry. One approach within this topic is to use wood as such a renewable alternative (‘Xylochemistry’), as it can be considered a source of atmospherically-bound CO2, and can be counted as CO2–neutral when no further fossil carbon is involved.22,23 With a worldwide production of 5 × 109 m3,24,25 wood provides a broad variety of valuable oxygen-containing functionalities, e.g. hydroxyl or carbonyl groups as well as (enantiomerically pure) building blocks in contrast to fossil fuels, which lost the majority of their heteroatomic functionalities and their stereo-information through the process of kerogenesis.26 Hence, their chemical diversity is limited and functional groups must be reconstructed in cost- and resource-intensive reaction sequences, which leads to additional purification steps, energy consumption and waste production.
In contrast, wood mainly consists of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, that affords the opportunity to use already existing waste-streams from paper production or agricultural waste products as well as wood itself. Furthermore, wood-derived materials act as renewable feedstocks for high value and platform chemicals alongside biofuels, while there is no competition with food production.27–33 As there is already a rich body of existing literature concerning the topic of lignin valorization/depolymerization,34–42 the reader shall be referred to this literature to gain a more detailed information about this spacious research field.39,42–46 (Oligo)peptides, (oligo)saccharides as well as (oligo)nucleotides will not be discussed in detail in this context either, as the natural origin of these substances is evident and the criterion of transcendence is not fulfilled in these cases.47–49
Xylochemical synthesis approaches are not only of interest for future industrial scale processes, but have also found their way into laboratory scale synthesis methodologies, particularly in natural product total synthesis. Since the term ‘Xylochemistry‘ was coined in 2015, several natural product total syntheses such as ilicifoline B,23 (−)-oxycodone,50 (−)-thebaine,51 lamellarin G trimethyl ether,52 shancigusin C and bletistrin G53 as well as 2-aminophenoxazinone-type natural products54 have been described. Additionally, antibacterial balsacones have been reported by the Pichette group,55 while some current HIV protease inhibitors56 as well as colorants and polyamides57 have been reported by the Opatz group. The Sperry group demonstrated the use of chitin and chitosan as naturally occurring sources of nitrogen that can be implemented in a variety of N-substituted heterocycles.58,59 Among other groups, the Barta lab worked on the valorization of lignin and its model compounds60 to build up naturally occurring alkaloid scaffolds. Another approach was reported by the Moeller group, who made use of wood waste streams by developing an electrochemical synthesis of value-added building blocks from sawdust.61 One of the most recent examples for the implementation of xylochemical strategies in organic chemistry and its impact on daily consumables is the application of cashew nut shell liquid as a supplier for UV absorbers in sunscreen.62
To the best of our knowledge, there is no current publication that summarizes a large multiplicity of (standard) chemicals and reagents that can be considered primary xylochemicals and additionally demonstrates their natural sources until this date. Furthermore, important secondary xylochemicals are listed, which are accessible via straightforward chemical transformations from primary xylochemicals. Thus, this review article should provide such an overview in tabular form and act as a work of reference.
Compound | Natural source | |
---|---|---|
wv,65 oxidation of sugars (75%)65,66 | ||
Formic acid | ||
Dry distillation of wood,67 hydrogenation of lignin68 | ||
Methanol | ||
wv,65 fmt. of sugars,69 oxidation of carbohydrate biomass (up to 27%),66 wood pyrolysis65 | ||
Acetic acid | ||
Ethanol dehydration (>98%)27,70–72 | ||
Ethylene | ||
From Kraft black liquor with elemental sulfur73 | ||
Dimethyl sulfide | ||
ABE-fmt. of sugars27,74,75 | ||
Ethanol | ||
Catalytic oxidation of ethanol (up to 96%)76 | ||
Ethylene oxide | ||
Microwave-assisted processes (18%), sugar cane, sugar beets77 | ||
Glycolic acid | ||
Wood-sorrels (Oxalis),78 from sawdust79 | ||
Oxalic acid | ||
wv65 | ||
Allyl alcohol | ||
Catalytic conversion of glycerol/water mixtures (up to 62%)80 | ||
Acrolein | ||
Dehydration of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (derived from biomass)81,82 | ||
Acrylic acid | ||
wv,65 fmt. of sugars (71.8 g L−1)69,83,84 | ||
Propionic acid | ||
From biomass82 | ||
3-Hydroxypropionic acid | ||
Leaves of lucerne and green/growing wheat plants,85 mature Leguminosae leaves, green alfalfa plants86,87 | ||
Malonic acid | ||
fmt. of sugars (up to 90%), corn or sugar beets,75,88 oxidation of carbohydrate biomass66,77 | ||
Lactic acid | ||
Oxidation of D-fructose and L-sorbose (85%)89 | ||
Glyceraldehyde | ||
ABE-fmt. of sugars,27,90 wood pyrolysis with addition of calcium carbonate65 | ||
Acetone | ||
Co-product of biodiesel production (50 wt%)91,92 | ||
Glycerol | ||
fmt. of sugars (>40 g L−1)93 | ||
Acetoin | ||
Catalytic gas phase synthesis from grain-/potato-based ethanol94 | ||
1,3-Butadiene | ||
ABE-fmt. of sugars (34 wt%)27,74 | ||
1-Butanol | ||
fmt. of sugars (up to 25%)95,96 | ||
(2R,3R)-butanediol | ||
Catalytic decarbonylation of furfural (>98%)97 | ||
Furan | ||
wv65 | ||
Crotonic acid | ||
fmt. of sugars,75,98–102 dry distillation of amber,103 biochemical transformation of sugar (1.3 mol succinate per mol glucose)104 | ||
Succinic acid | ||
Cleavage of ascorbic acid,105 grapes (berries) and wine, Geraniaceae, Vitaceae and Leguminosae families106 | ||
Tartaric acid | ||
Green alfalfa,86 wheat,87 fmt. of sugars (37.9 ± 2.6 g L−1)107 | ||
Malic acid | ||
wv,65 fmt. of sugars (21 g L−1)69,108 | ||
Butanoic acid | ||
Dehydrated malic acid, oxidation of furfural (47%), butanol, levulinic acid, hydroxymethylfurfural109,110 | ||
Maleic acid | ||
fmt. of sugars (16.2 ± 0.2 g L−1),107Fumaria officinalis69 | ||
Fumaric acid | ||
wv65 | ||
Angelic acid | ||
wv,65 distillation of valerian root69 | ||
Valeric acid | ||
Lignocellulose111 (60–70% based on hexose content),112 sugars113,114 | ||
Levulinic acid | ||
fmt. of sugars (glucose),75 by product of the pyrolysis of citric acid115 | ||
Itaconic acid | ||
Hydrogenation of arabinose from hemicellulose (up to 78%)31,75 | ||
Xylitol | ||
Mosses, ferns, trees, polyisoprenes from rubber tree,116 pyrolysis of rubber products117 | ||
Isoprene | ||
From levulinic acid through catalytic hydrogenation (>99%),118 lignocellulose119 | ||
γ-Valerolactone | ||
Pentose-containing biomass like corn cobs, sugar cane residues,97,109,111,120 wood hydrolysates121 | ||
Furfural | ||
Hydrogenation of furfural122 | ||
2-Methyltetrahydrofuran | ||
wv,65 fractionation of coconut oil69 | ||
Caproic acid | ||
Hydrogenation of glucose,75 from cellulose (up to 85%)31,75 | ||
Sorbitol | ||
Juice of manna-ash (Fraxinus ornus l.), olive trees/leaves,123,124 catalytic hydrogenation of glucose-fructose mixtures or cellulose (up to 85%)75 | ||
Mannitol | ||
Dry distillation of Acacia catechu,125 lignin126,127 | ||
Catechol | ||
Lignin depol.,128 pine wood lignin (9.6 mol%)129 | ||
Phenol | ||
Wood tar130 | ||
Resorcinol | ||
From phloretin,131 (apple tree leaves, manchurian apricot)132,133 | ||
Phloroglucinol | ||
Oxidation of hydroxymethylfurfural/methoxymethyl-furfural (59%)134,135 | ||
Furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid | ||
Depol. of kraft lignin (175 g kg−1),136 wood combustion137,138 | ||
Benzene | ||
Raw wv from Pinus tabulaeformis carr127 | ||
Hydroquinone | ||
Green shell of walnuts,139 citrus fruits140 | ||
Ascorbic acid/vitamin C | ||
wv,65 rowan berries141,142 | ||
Sorbic acid | ||
Rowan berries (132 mg/100 g),143 cranberry (0.12% of dry plant)144 | ||
Parasorbic acid | ||
Apparent in plants, also available from citric acid87 | ||
Aconitic acid | ||
Green alfalfa,86 growing wheat,87 industrially through fmt. of sugars (up to 100%),69,145 citrus juice and pineapple waste69 | ||
Citric acid | ||
fmt. of sunflower oil (93 g L−1) and purification by esterification146 | ||
Isocitric acid | ||
Green solvent alternative for DMF or NMP, from cellulose (from larch log, poplar wood, bagasse, corn cob, bilberry presscake),147via hydrogenation of levoglucosenone (up to 100%)147,148 | ||
Cyrene | ||
From biomass derived levulinic acid and formaldehyde (up to 92%)149 | ||
5-Methyl-3-methylenedihydrofuran-2(3H)-one | ||
From biomass derived glucose, sucrose, cellulose (up to 76%)150,151 | ||
5-(chloromethyl)furfural | ||
Fructose and other sugars (85%)75,114,152–154 | ||
5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural | ||
Fruit kernels,155 peach leaves,156 from cinnamaldehyde155 | ||
Benzaldehyde | ||
Eucalyptus wood tar,157 lignin depol.,128 wood pyrolysis158 | ||
Cresoles | ||
Caesalpinia spinosa pods (25% yield),159Rhus chinensis160 | ||
Gallic acid | ||
Eucalyptus wood extracts (detected via LC-MS),161Terminalia myriocarpa extracts162 | ||
Methyl gallate | ||
Wood combustion,65,163 tolu balsam164,165 | ||
Toluene | ||
Raw wv from Pinus tabulaeformis carr127 | ||
3-Methylcatechol | ||
Raw wv from Pinus tabulaeformis carr127 | ||
3-Methoxycatechol | ||
Raw wv from Pinus tabulaeformis carr127 | ||
4-Methylcatechol | ||
Distillation of guaiac resin,65,166 wood tar oil,65 wv,65 bio-oil from lignin pyrolysis (up to 26%)167 | ||
Guaiacol | ||
From gum benzoin69,103 | ||
Benzoic acid | ||
From Salicaceae168,169 | ||
Hydroxybenzoic acids | ||
From Alchornea cordifolia169 | ||
Dihydroxybenzoic acids | ||
wv,65 wood tar170 | ||
Xylenoles | ||
Oxidation of vanillin from lignin169,171 | ||
Vanillic acid | ||
Lignin (4.5–7.0%,172 2.8%173),174 aspen wood (0.95–17.5%),175 Eucalyptus wood176 | ||
Vanillin | ||
Wood pyrolysis (detected via GC)177 | ||
Veratrole | ||
Birch wood (combustion)163 | ||
Xylenes | ||
Raw wv from Pinus tabulaeformis carr127 | ||
2,6-Dimethoxyphenol | ||
Leaves of Syringa vulgaris (2.5% via GC),178Quercus infectoria,179 acai palm oil (1073 ± 62 mg L−1)180 | ||
Syringic acid | ||
Cinnamon bark,181 (1.5% of dried bark),182Pseudocinnamomum183 | ||
Cinnamaldehyde | ||
Cinnamon bark184 | ||
Cinnamic acid | ||
Lignin depol.185 | ||
p-coumaryl alcohol | ||
Grapevine pruning (0.15%),186 wheat straw (0.66%),187 maize stems (1.08%)187 | ||
p-coumaric acid | ||
Lignin oxidation, poplar lignin (30%),188 aspen wood (0.77–36.2% at temperatures between 100–215 °C),175 maple wood (Klason lignin, 31.8%)189 | ||
Syringaldehyde | ||
Hydrogenation of hardwood lignin (76%)68 | ||
4-Propylcyclohexanol | ||
Raw wv from Pinus tabulaeformis carr127 | ||
2,6-Dimethoxy-4-methylphenol | ||
From wood of Abies sibirica190 | ||
Veratraldehyde | ||
Fractional distillation of Eucalyptus oil from leaves (1.0–2.4% of fresh weight)191 | ||
1,8-Cineol | ||
Roots of Lactuca sativa var. Angustana cv. (3.7 mg/228 g dried plant),192 leaves of Chloranthus anhuiensis193 and alpinia flabellate (11 mg/800 g dried plant)194 | ||
Trimethoxybenzaldehyde | ||
Sassafras oil195 (80-93%),196,197Ocotea odorifera oil (42%)198 | ||
Safrol | ||
From safrol (98%)199 | ||
Isosafrol | ||
Reduction of ferulic acid (68%),200 lignin depol185 | ||
Coniferyl alcohol | ||
Rice straw (0.87%),187 rice bran201 (178.3 μg mg−1),202 grapevine pruning (0.41 mg g−1),186 wheat straw (1.24%)187 | ||
Ferulic acid | ||
Oxidation of asarone (65%)203,204 | ||
Asaronic acid | ||
Chenopodium oil (67%),205Peumus boldus oil (31%)206 | ||
Ascaridole | ||
Sulfate turpentine,207Origanum acutidens oil (ca. 2%),208Chenopodium ambrosioides oil (26%)209 | ||
p-cymene | ||
Camphor wood69,208 | ||
Camphor | ||
Blumea balsamifera leaves (0.5% (−)-borneol, less isoborneol)210 | ||
(iso)borneol | ||
Clove (leaves and buds, 180 mg g−1),211,212 bay leaves, cinnamon bark and leaves213 | ||
Eugenol | ||
Clove (leaves and buds, 180 mg g−1),211,212 bay leaves, cinnamon bark and leaves213 | ||
Isoeugenol | ||
Turkish Origanum acutidens,208 thyme oil (up to 50%)69 | ||
Thymol | ||
Origanum acutidens oil (87%),208Satureja montana extracts (53-66%),214 oils of thyme (up to 60%), majorana (49%), Origanum dictamnus (up to 82%)215 | ||
Carvacrol | ||
Turkish Origanum acutidens,208Cotinus coggygria oil (8.8%),216 or leave distillates (52%)69 | ||
Myrcene | ||
Mentha piperita oil (30-55%),217Mentha canadensis oil (63-69%)218 | ||
(–)-Menthol | ||
Mentha piperita oil (14–32%),217Mentha canadensis oil (8–16%)218 | ||
(–)-Menthone | ||
(R)-(−)-Limonene: orange oil (92%)219 (3.8 wt% of orange peel),220 lemon, bergamot, dill, mint, among others,219 (S)-(−)-limonene: oaks and pines, Eucalyptus stageriana221 | ||
Limonene | ||
Chenopodium ambrosioides oil (63%),209 majoram oil (10%),222 terpene fraction of orange oil,69 american turpentine oil69 | ||
α-terpinene | ||
Majoram oil (14%),222 cardamom oil (up to 11%)223 | ||
γ-terpinene | ||
Spruce needle oil,224 sulfate turpentine (65%)207 | ||
α-pinene | ||
From turpentine, from α-pinene69 | ||
β-pinene | ||
(S)-(+)-carvone: Carum carvi oil (50–70%),225 (R)-(−)-Carvone: oil of spearmint (up to 69%)69,226 | ||
Carvone | ||
Western red cedar (Thuja plicata donn) heartwood 5.8% (w/w) of extractive,227 taiwan hinoki (0.2 mg g−1 sawdust)228 | ||
Hinokitiol | ||
Coriandrol ((S)-(+)-linalool): coriander (60–70%), Orthodon linalooliferum (80%) licareol ((R)-(−)-linalool): extracts of Cinnamomum camphora or cajenne rosewood (80–85%)69,229 | ||
Linalool | ||
Lignin depol.185 | ||
Sinapyl alcohol | ||
Rapeseed hulls (450 mg kg−1),230 mustard meal231 | ||
Sinapinic acid | ||
Bark of pine trees,232 rice bran oil,233 indonesian sausage fruit234 | ||
Methyl ferulate | ||
Acorus (70% in extract),235,236Asarum237 | ||
Asarone | ||
Black locust wood (0.5% of dry weight)238 | ||
Dihydrorobinetin | ||
Catechu black from Acacia catechu (2–10% catechin),69 grape seed extract (approx. 6% of combined flavanol monomers, including (−)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin), tea extract69 | ||
(epi)catechin | ||
Humulus lupulus (40% of volatiles),239 spearmint oil (up to 30%),226 sage oil (13%)240 | ||
Humulene | ||
Ginger oil (35%)241 | ||
Zingiberene | ||
Tall oil242–244 | ||
Palmitic acid | ||
Hydrogenation of palmitic acid (20%)245 | ||
Cetyl alcohol | ||
Tall oil (45–49%)242–244 | ||
Oleic acid | ||
Tall oil (45–48%)242–244 | ||
Linoleic acid | ||
Tall oil242–244 | ||
Stearic acid | ||
Hydrogenation of C18 fatty acids (up to 83%)246,247 | ||
Stearyl alcohol | ||
Dehydrogenation of abietic acids from resin oils248,249 | ||
Retene | ||
Wood rosin250 | ||
Abietic acid | ||
Rosemary leaves (1.2% of dry plant)251–253 and sage69,253 | ||
Carnosol | ||
Cashew nut shell liquid from Anacardium occidentale (up to 90%)62,254 | ||
Cardanol | ||
Cashew nut shell liquid from Anacardium occidentale62,254 | ||
Cardol | ||
Cashew nut shell liquid (82%)255 from Anacardium occidentale, Anacardiaceae, Gingkoaceae, and Myristicaceae62,256 | ||
Anacardic acid |
Scheme 1 Cashew nut shell liquid derived potential UV-Absorbers synthesized by Opatz and de Koning et al.62 |
The first total synthesis of the dimeric alkaloid ilicifoline B (11)261 was reported in 2015 from the groups of Opatz and Arduengo,23 who exclusively utilized wood-derived carbon sources like ferulic acid (7), methanol (8) and veratrole (9). They also reported an asymmetric synthesis of (−)-dihydrocodeine (15) with methyl ferulate (12) and methyl gallate (14) as the staring materials, a xylochemical version of a synthesis developed earlier (Scheme 2).262 Both syntheses demonstrate that the use of wood-derived building blocks can be a sustainable alternative in classical synthetic approaches. In the case of dihydrocodeine, the hitherto most efficient asymmetric synthesis could be surpassed in terms of overall yield even though no carbon input from fossil sources was required with the exception of solvents and reagents.22
Scheme 2 Total Synthesis of ilicifoline B (11) and (−)-dihydrocodeine (15) using a xylochemical approach.23,262 |
Another example for the application of xylochemical synthesis strategies was reported in 2019.50 (−)-Oxycodone (19), a naturally occurring263 but mostly semisynthetic opioid related to naturally occurring thebaine,264,265 was synthesized starting from wood-derived methyl gallate (14) and vanillin via the regio- and diastereoselective formation of a 4a-2′-coupled morphinandienone 17 as the key step, followed by Ru-catalyzed Noyori asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (Scheme 3).266,267
Scheme 3 Xylochemical total synthesis of (−)-thebaine (18) and (−)-oxycodone (19).50,51 |
Nevertheless, nitrogen-containing fine chemicals remain a challenging task for xylochemical synthesis approaches, as they are not directly attainable from lignocellulosic biomass. To this end, the Sperry group has used chitin (20), the second-most abundant biopolymer, as a cheap natural source of nitrogen, to show a proof-of-concept synthesis of the anticancer alkaloid proximicin A (23) in seven steps.59 Additionally, all of the reagents applied in this synthesis sequence are traceable back towards renewable resources. With this strategy, the group was also able to demonstrate the synthesis of various 3-aminocyclopentanones, 4-aminocyclopentene-1,3-diones and a 4-aminocyclopentenone by applying the chitin-derived furfural 22 in a Piancatelli-like rearrangement (Scheme 4).268
Scheme 4 Chitin/Chitosan-derived starting material 22 and products thereof by Sperry et al.59,268 |
By applying acidolysis strategies to lignin, the Barta group managed to directly afford three different substance classes of aromatic compounds that can be used as valuable aromatic monomers in further synthesis (Scheme 5). To this end, lignin model compounds 47, representing the β-O-4 linkage in natural lignin, were subjected to strong acids, and the resulting reactive intermediates were converted into more stable products in situ through either reaction with diols furnishing acetals, dehydrogenation to afford the respective diol, or through decarbonylation.269
Scheme 5 (a) Cleavage pathways of lignin through acidolysis followed by in situ conversion into stable products. (b) Construction of lignin-derived tetrahydro-2-benzazepines 58.60,269 |
In 2019, the same group reported the construction of lignin-derived tetrahydro-2-benzazepines (58) through selective catalytic amination followed by cyclization using formaldehyde and choline chloride (ChCl)/oxalic acid (OA) as deep eutectic solvent.60 These substances show promising biological activities270 and represent a scaffold in naturally occurring alkaloids271 such as galanthamine,272 among others.
In 2015, the Moeller group reported the use of sawdust for the electrochemical, sustainable construction of synthetic building blocks bearing electron-rich aromatic rings.61 Solvolysis of the crude sawdust material lead to either cinnamyl ether or aryl aldehyde products, depending on the reaction conditions (Scheme 6). One substance of each class of lignin-derived products was exemplarily converted electrochemically into a series of value-added synthetic substrates, which themselves could act as platform chemicals for the construction of diverse drugs (38a and 38b) and alkaloids (39–41), as monomers for polymer synthesis (42 and 43), as structural elements found in numerous biological systems (44) or as substrates for electrochemical oxidations (45 and 46).
Scheme 6 Solvolysis products of sawdust and conversion into electron-rich and value-added synthetic building blocks by the Moeller group.61 |
Footnote |
† Contributed equally, ordered alphabetically by last name. |
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2021 |