Hydrogenation of Glucose into Sorbitol using Ru-based Catalyst: A Short Review

Abstract

Glucose is one of the most abundant non-food biomasses on the earth, and it is one of the most promising fossil-fuel alternatives for the long-term production of commodity chemicals and fuels, with the potential for carbon-neutral technologies. Sorbitol produced by glucose hydrogenation, is the most potential carbohydrate-derived building block chemicals has been regarded as a promising alternative to petroleum and natural gas in future refinery. Catalytic hydrogenation of glucose into sorbitol has recently drawn attention. Heterogenous catalysts are preferred in this reaction due to their high efficiency and reusability. The catalytic performance of Ru-based catalysts has been discussed in this paper as it has been reported by numerous studies for its high selectivity toward target products.