In the last few decades, requirements for sustainable and safe processes are gaining much attention, not only in academia and chemical industries but the whole of society. Efforts have been made to meet the demands of the Green Chemistry principles mainly in the replacement of volatile organic solvents (VOS) by suitable alternatives such as biodegradables and non-volatile green solvents, such as ionic liquids, bio-based solvents, and deep eutectic solvents.

Lignocellulosic biomass is widely recognized as an important renewable resource from which it is possible to produce bioenergy, novel materials, and platforms for value-added chemical products. The current methods for fractionating biomass into their constituents (i.e. cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) are carried out by strong alkali or acids and use enormous quantities of solvents, having a strong environmental impact, and being poorly efficient since most of the biomass is used to produce low-value energy when it could be valorized in other ways.

In addition, not only does the solvent play a key role in organic reactions, but time and energy efficiency are also important. As such, the use of irradiation methods can be a further way to achieve the requirements for more sustainable and safer processes.

Based on these premises and the relevance of the topic of biomass valorization, this Research Topic will deal with the broad theme of developing greener alternative solvents and their mixtures for efficient fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass to produce value-added chemical products.

The aim of the current Research Topic is to cover promising, recent, and novel research trends in the fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass, by using alternative solvents such as ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents, and bio-based solvents. Areas to be covered in this Research Topic may include, but are not limited to:

• Fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass by using alternative solvents
• Use of irradiation methods in combination with alternative solvents to breakdown biomass
• Novel methodologies for fractionation of biomass by using alternative solvents
• Isolation of lignin, hemicelluloses or cellulose
• Obtention of nano-cellulose with alternative solvents
• Mechanism of solubilization of lignocellulosic biomass in alternative solvents
• Understandings of solubilization of biomass in alternative solvents

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Frontiers in Chemistry

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