H4) Biomass-Based Defossilisation Strategies for Sustainable Chemicals and Materials

With increasing global emphasis on environmental sustainability and reducing dependency on petroleum-based feedstock, the development of renewable fuel, chemicals and materials has become critical. Among these, lignocellulosic biomass offers a promising alternative to fossil fuel due to its abundance and renewability. Beyond biorefinery and biomass conversion, functional materials derived from wood and other biomass sources are attracting widespread attention for applications in packaging, electronics, and energy storage. This symposium aims to gather researchers and industry professionals to exchange knowledge, showcase recent advances, and discuss future directions in the design, synthesis, processing, and application of biomass. This symposium will cover the following topics:

1. Biorefinery and biomass valorization
   • Green chemistry for biomass pre-treatment
   • Biomass conversion to platform chemicals
   • Green and sustainable technologies for biomass deconstruction
2. Biomass-based materials
   • Cellulose-derived functional materials (films, hydrogels, aerogels, electronics, 3D printing, sensors)
   • Lignin-derived functional materials (nanoparticles, adhesives, resins, copolymers)
   • Other functional materials from biomass
3. Wood-derived materials and technologies
   • Functional wood composites
   • Bioinspired and hierarchical wood structures
   • Transparent and modified/reprocessed wood
   • Novel processing methods on wood