Abundant quantities of beechwood forest residues and industrial residues represent a potentially valuable raw material. Different options for the chemical processing of biomass to marketable products, as well as relevant technologies, are presented in this paper. Beechwood can be efficiently converted to platform chemicals and fuels, such as ethanol and butanol. Sophisticated delignification procedures enable energy efficient and environmentally friendly production of cellulose fibers to be used for paper and textiles, as well as to manufacture nanofibrillated and nanocrystalline cellulose. Wood fibers are suitable for the preparation of wood plastic composites, with a wide range of potential applications. Likewise, hemicellulose and lignin fractions may be conveniently used. Chemical conversion of biomass takes place within biorefineries
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