Benign-by-design preparation of humin-based iron oxide catalytic nanocomposites

The current acid-catalyzed conversion of biomass feedstocks yields substantial quantities of undesired by-products called humins, for which applications are yet to be found. This work aims to provide a starting point for valorisation of humins via preparation of humin-based iron oxide catalytic nanocomposites from humins and thermally treated humins (foams) via solvent-free methodologies including ball milling and thermal degradation. The prepared materials were found to be active in the microwave-assisted selective oxidation of isoeugenol (conversions >87%) to vanillin, proving the feasibility to use humin by-products as template/composite materials.