Nowadays, numerous environmental issues such as global warming, acid rain, and climate change have received increasing attention worldwide as a result of the over-exploitation of resources, especially fossil fuels (i.e., petroleum, natural gas, and coal). Therefore, the transition from petroleum to renewable carbon sources to meet our energy and chemical feedstock needs is of great significance. Lignocellulosic biomass, the most abundant and non-edible renewable source, is expected to be a promising alternative for the production of biofuels and high-value chemicals. Given practical easy operation, the thermal catalytic route has been deemed to be more effective in producing biomass-derived products.

Catalysis is a unifying technology. Although the challenges of valorizing biomass differ from those of functionalizing petroleum, the benefits and goals of developing new catalytic methods remain the same: efficiency, selectivity, and increased sustainability. The use of homogeneous/heterogeneous catalysts for the thermal route, in particular, promises to yield valuable feedstocks from biomass with potential benefits for both the organic synthesis and biomass valorization communities.

This Special Issue intends to highlight current progress on the development and optimization of thermal catalytic systems and processes for selective transformation of biorenewables to biofuels and high-value chemicals. Manuscripts submitted should present novel approaches and recent advances in the application of the catalysis process to upgrade biomass feedstocks. We also emphasize discussions of the relevant leading efforts with respect to the methods and mechanisms of thermo-catalysis for the synthesis of biofuels and high-value chemicals. Original research and review articles are welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Thermocatalysis for direct conversion of biomass into specific biofuels and fine chemicals
• Homogeneous/heterogeneous catalysts for biomass valorization and organic synthesis
• Combination of biological and chemical catalysts in one-pot for biomass transformations
• Thermocatalysis for the upgrading of bio-based platform molecules
• Green solvents (supercritical fluids, water, ionic liquids, and their mixtures) enabled for the hydrothermal conversion of biomass to functional materials and valuable chemicals
• Synthesis and sustainable applications of functional catalysts