Research progress on the preparation and application of biomass derived methyl levulinate

Abstract

As one of the substitutes for traditional fossil energy, biomass resource has attracted extensive attention. Methyl levulinate (ML) is a short chain fatty acid ester, which is an important green and high value-added chemical derived from biomass. Starting from a few different model compounds, this review summarized a variety of process methods for preparing ML, pointed out the best reaction conditions and parameters in the current research progress, and explained the key reaction mechanism for ML formation. In addition, this review further discussed the research progress of converting real lignocellulosic biomass with more complex structure into ML with a particular emphasis on the selection of applicable biomass species. At the same time, the development of catalysts in this field was introduced. What's more, the conversion and utilization of ML to produce other fine platform chemicals were stressed. Subsequently, the advanced technologies and existing issues in the current research progress were presented, and finally the research directions in this field were prospected.