Outlook

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book describes and discusses the catalysts and catalytic processes employed in the upgrading of the most abundant and important types of biomass feedstock. To this end, the challenges posed by the presence of catalyst poisons in these feeds are addressed, which should ideally be done by increasing the robustness of the catalysts employed, albeit improvements can also be achieved via feedstock pretreatment focused on the elimination of catalyst poisons. Considering the application of catalysts to the pyrolysis of biomass and the upgrading of the bio-oil product, it is evident that additional work is needed to improve not only the yields achieved in the production of bio-oil from lignocellulosic biomass via catalytic fast pyrolysis but also the quality of the bio-oil produced.