Advances in Aluminophosphates for Catalytic Upgrading of Lignocellulose and Derived Compounds

Utilization of lignocellulosic biomass as a renewable resource to produce liquid fuels/fuel additives and commodity chemicals offer solutions to minimize the exhaustion of nonrenewable carbon-based fossil resources and mitigate environmental problems. Cellulose and hemicellulose derived from lignocellulose can be converted into several important platform molecules like glucose, fructose, xylose, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, levulinic acid, etc., which subsequently can be transformed into fuels/fuel additives and value-added chemicals using heterogeneous catalytic processes. Aluminophosphates (AlPO-n) are zeotype materials with tunable physicochemical properties like acidity and porosity, and this have promoted their wide use as versatile catalysts for several acid-catalyzed reactions, including hydrolysis, dehydration, isomerization, transfer hydrogenation, reductive etherification, acetalization and aldol condensation. This review summarizes the design and synthetic advances of AlPO-n catalysts as well as their application in the valorization of lignocellulose and derivatives to platform chemicals and fuel compounds. Perspectives for future design strategies are finally outlined.