Levulinic acid biorefinery in a life cycle perspective

Nowadays there is a strong urge to replace the fossil-based chemicals and fuels with biobased ones. In this context, the 7th principle of the green chemistry, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the recent Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach are the main references. Among the various biorefineries, lignocellulosic biomasses represent the most abundant resource to explore. Considering the vast plethora of useful molecules produced from lignocellulosic biomasses, levulinic acid embodies a potential starting material for the preparation of high value-added chemicals. This review explores the preparation of levulinic acid form lignocellulosic biomasses and its further valorization to high-value added compounds (gamma-valerolactone, ketals and methyl/ethyl levulinate), considering the current state of the art of the available synthetic strategies, in a life cycle perspective considering the adoption of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology.