Catalytic depolymerisation of suberin rich biomass with precious metal catalystsIn Memoriam: We dedicate this work to our colleague, Mark Garrett, who passed away on 25th April 2016. Mark began his PhD research with Gary Sheldrake more than 20 years ago and continued to be a close colleague and friend. He was always so full of vitality, good humour and boundless energy and he will be deeply missed.Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c8gc00605a

Hydrogenolysis of cork has been examined using a range of precious metal catalysts studying the effect of the support, added base and solvent used. The addition of a catalyst and a base resulted in a bio-oil increase of 9.3-158% compared to when no catalyst was used along with an increase in the lipid yield of 113-258%. The change in the solvent to 2-methyl tetrahydrofuran from the original dioxane solvent system allowed for a change to a "greener" solvent as well as an increased bio-oil yield from 11.5 wt% to 42.6 wt%, in the absence of a base. Hydrogenolysis of cork has been examined using a range of precious metal catalysts studying the effect of the support, added base and solvent used.