The efficient conversion of xylose into lactic acid, especially with the novel contribution of C₂ components, was revealed over the heterogeneous Sn-beta catalyst in water with a very high lactic acid yield of 70.0 wt% at 200 °C for 60 min. The ¹³C NMR results indicated that glycolaldehyde (C₂), the cleavage species of xylose condensate to erythrose (C₄), subsequently, erythrose converts to lactic acid (C₃) and to formic acid (C₁) with the removal of a carbon atom. In this catalytic process, Sn acts as the Lewis acid site in the Si–O–Sn framework, and participates in the coupling and cracking of C–C bonds (C₂ → C₄ → C₃) through the adsorption of α-protons to generate carbonium anions. Thus, more than 10 wt% lactic acid was obtained based on above pathway through the synergy of aldol addition, isomerization and retro-aldol condensation over the Sn-beta catalyst.

Pt–WO_3−xcatalysts with more Pt⁰species and proximity of oxygen vacancy active sites derived from WO_3−x, assisted by the hydrogen spillover effect, lead to an excellent methylcyclohexane yield (92.5%) at 220 °C, under 4.0 MPa H₂inn-hexane solvent.

Microwave-assisted pyrolysis is suitable for biomass valorization with the advantages of temperature reduction and energy saving. However, the lack of deep insight into low-temperature behaviors and scale-up demonstration restrict the possibility of industrial applications. The laboratory studies found that the temperature range of rice straw pyrolysis with microwave heating was shifted to 250–300 °C, and the activation energy was about 40–150 kJ mol⁻¹ reduced compared with conventional pyrolysis. The positive promotion of inter-link for the dielectric loss factor of biomass, instantaneous hotspots, temperature and activation energy reduction were revealed. Based on the findings, an original 80 kg h⁻¹ pilot-scale microwave-assisted pyrolysis Auger reactor was designed and continuously operated at 200–300 °C with a 72% net energy ratio. The energy and economic analysis indicated that the small-scale microwave-assisted pyrolysis is suitable for the mobile decentralized biomass conversion system.