# Merging Lignin and Glycerol Carbonate Valorization Toward the Green Synthesis of β‐Adrenergic Blocker Esmolol

## TL;DR

This paper presents a sustainable method to synthesize the drug esmolol using lignin and glycerol carbonate from agricultural waste.

## Contribution

A novel green synthesis route for esmolol using lignin-derived compounds and glycerol carbonate via catalytic processes.

## Key findings

- Selective depolymerization of sugarcane lignin yields methyl 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate with >70% selectivity.
- Catalytic amination of glycerol carbonate produces an amine intermediate suitable for synthesizing esmolol.
- The overall process generates esmolol with water and CO2 as main byproducts, offering an atom-economic pathway.

## Abstract

Producing nitrogen‐containing chemicals through the direct combination of by‐products readily available from agricultural waste, including renewable aromatic building blocks from lignin, is a highly attractive approach for sustainable biorefining processes. Here, we describe a novel synthetic/catalytic route toward the production of the highly valuable β‐adrenergic blocker esmolol. Our strategy consists of: 1) Reductive Catalytic Fractionation (RCF) of sugarcane lignocellulose mediated by copper porous metal oxides (Cu20PMO) in MeOH, leading to the in situ formation of methyl 3‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl) propionate (1H) with good selectivity (>70%), followed by 2) the selective catalytic amination of glycerol carbonate (GlyC) with isopropyl amine via the borrowing hydrogen strategy, and 3) the subsequent utilization of the obtained amine intermediate as a phenol alkylating agent in combination with 1H to afford the desired β‐adrenergic blocker esmolol (1Ha).

An atom‐economic methodology toward the synthesis of β‐adrenergic blocker esmolol (1Ha) from sugarcane bagasse has been developed. The depolymerization of sugarcane via a lignin‐first reductive catalytic fractionation catalyzed by Cu20PMO, enables the selective sourcing of methyl(3‐ (3‐hydroxy‐4‐methoxyphenyl)propionate (1H). On the other hand, the catalytic amination of glycerol carbonate (GlyC) leads to the intermediate GlyCa. Finally, the combination of these two bio‐based platform chemicals allows a clean synthetic pathway toward 1Ha with only H2O and CO2 as the main side products.© 2026 WILEY‐VCH GmbH