Abstract
Biomass conversion strategies can improve the sustainability of the chemical industry. However, often humins co-products are formed, lowering the economic value of the production of chemicals from biomass. The peculiar foaming ability of the humins can be employed for the synthesis of inorganic foams, such as alumina. By using two different methods - one where humins foams are used as template and one where humins are foam-directing agents - this work aims to broaden the spectrum of the sustainable production of ceramic and porous materials. As-synthesised materials were also tested in the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol showing promising activity for catalytic applications.