This disclosure relates to compositions and methods for converting biomass to various chemical intermediates and final products including fuels. Aspects include the depolymerization of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose to a wide slate of depolymerization compounds that can be subsequently metabolized by genetically modified bacterium, and converted to cis,cis-muconic acid. Other aspects include the use of monometallic catalysts for converting the cis,cis-muconic acid to commodity chemicals and fuels, for example adipic acid and/or nylon.