From Sawdust to Cyrene™ – A Journey in Many Parts

Levoglucosenone (LGO) and Cyrene™ can today be regarded as “bio-privileged chiral molecules” that were until very recently produced sustainably from a variety of waste lignocellulosic biomass resources in tonne quantities at 99+% purity. The commercial and technological development paths for these two molecules are reviewed including the geopolitical factors that led to the recent abandonment of large-scale production of these compounds. Recent developments in the chemistry of both LGO and Cyrene™ are also reviewed.