Biomass – Renewable Feedstock for Organic Chemicals (“White Chemistry”)*

Limited resources compel us to turn to renewable sources, new and old, that are capable of supporting sustainable development of the human society, and satisfying the demand in energy and materials. Plant life is far from being depleted; while its potential in supporting sustainable and renewable feedstock for organic material is great. This review is devoted to the use of biomass in production of basic organic chemicals, and to the main technological directions of biomass processing. These processes mainly involve transformation of cellulose and carbohydrates into final products by chemical or fermentation technologies. Some processes are already applied in industry, while their field of application is permanently growing. A number of chemical products can be isolated from plants directly including genetically modified species. Progress in chemical technology and biotechnology enables an almost 50–70 % substitution of oil feedstock with biomass.