Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is a specialty monomer for poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and the increasing demand for this monomer has motivated industry to develop clean technologies based on renewable resources. The dominant commercial process reacts acetone and hydrogen cyanide to MMA (ACH route) but the intermediates (hydrogen cyanide, and acetone cyanohydrin) are toxic and represent an environmental hazard. Esterification of methacrylic acid (MAA) to MMA is a compelling alternative together with ethylene, propylene, and isobutene/t-butanol as feedstocks. Partially oxidizing isobutane or 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (2MPDO) over heteropolycompounds to MAA in a single-step is nascent technology to replace current processes. The focus of this review is on catalysts and their role in the development of processes herein described. Indeed, in some cases remarkable catalysts were studied that enabled considerable steps forward in both the advancement of catalysis science and establishing the basis for new technologies. An emblematic example is represented by Keggin-type heteropolycompounds with cesium and vanadium, which are promising catalysts to convert isobutane and 2MPDO to MAA. Renewable sources for the MMA or MAA route include acetone, isobutanol, ethanol, lactic, itaconic, and citric acids. End-of-life PMMA is expected to grow as a future source of MMA.

A multi-criteria approach based on life cycle thinking is proposed to investigate the production of 1,3-butadiene.

The present work compares, from a life cycle perspective, four different ways for the production of terephthalic acid.

In this paper we report on the one-pot transformation of glycerol into acrylic acid, catalyzed by W/V mixed oxides, with hexagonal tungsten bronze (HTB) structure. The reaction requires two different catalyst functions, i.e., an acid one, which is given by W oxide, and an oxidizing one, given by the V ions incorporated within the WO₃ lattice. W–O bronze is very active and moderately selective in acrolein formation, but yields only traces of acrylic acid. The incorporation of increasing amounts of V inside the hexagonal tungsten bronze structure, with the development of a monophasic compound, allows the consecutive oxidation of acrolein into acrylic acid. An optimal atomic ratio between W and V equal to V/(W + V) = 0.12–0.21 made it possible to obtain an acrylic acid yield of 25% (with selectivity to residual acrolein of 11%). However, during reaction under the oxygen-containing feed, the V⁴⁺ incorporated into the hexagonal bronze structure underwent a slow oxidation into V⁵⁺, which caused a progressive decline of selectivity to acrylic acid and a concomitant increase of CO_x formation; the hexagonal structure however was stable during lifetime experiments. On the other hand, in the absence of oxygen a very rapid deactivation of the catalyst occurred, with a decrease in selectivity to acrolein and increase in heavy by-products.