Methyl levulinate is a green reagent derived from biomass, widely used in biochemical experiments and drug synthesis research.

Methyl levulinate was converted to methyl 4-alkoxyvalerate by reductive etherification of fatty alcohols, resulting in biomass-derived surfactants with very good surface tension and critical micelle concentration properties. Among different bifunctional acid/metal catalysts, Pd gave the best Results on carbonic acid-containing sites. The reaction occurs via the formation of an enol ether intermediate followed by hydrogenation. Pd in high-density planes is the active hydrogenating species and the optimum crystal size was found to be around 10 nm. The reductive etherification of fatty alcohols was extended to other aliphatic and cyclic ketones and aldehydes obtained from biomass, and excellent Results were obtained on supported Pd catalysts using the reaction route and experimental conditions described in this work. [1]