The use of lignocellulosic biomass in the chemical industry has increased due to its non-competition with the food sector. Several platform molecules can be produced from this biomass. Among them, levulinic acid and its esters have been produced on an industrial scale. There are some reviews on the production of levulinic acid (LA) but few on the production of levulinates (LEs). To fill this gap, this review was written by also considering the environmental aspects. In the first stage, recent progress in the production of these platform chemicals was discussed. Production processes of alkyl levulinates from levulinic acid esterification, precursors (HMF, furfural, etc.), sugar monomers (glucose, fructose, etc.), cellulose, hemicellulose, or cellulose directly from lignocellulosic biomass were described. In the second stage, process separation and purification of LA and LEs were discussed. The final stage proposed an economic and environmental consideration for the production of these chemicals.

The epoxidized group, also known as the oxirane group, can be considered as one of the most crucial rings in chemistry. Due to the high ring strain and the polarization of the C–O bond in this three-membered ring, several reactions can be carried out. One can see such a functional group as a crucial intermediate in fuels, polymers, materials, fine chemistry, etc. Literature covering the topic of epoxidation, including the catalytic aspect, is vast. No review articles have been written on the catalytic synthesis of short size, intermediate and macro-molecules to the best of our knowledge. To fill this gap, this manuscript reviews the main catalytic findings for the production of ethylene and propylene oxides, epichlorohydrin and epoxidized vegetable oil. We have selected these three epoxidized molecules because they are the most studied and produced. The following catalytic systems will be considered: homogeneous, heterogeneous and enzymatic catalysis.