CATALYTIC TRANSFORMATION OF BIO-DERIVED PLATFORM MOLECULES

Humanity has enjoyed the benefits of the industrial revolution and has built a technologically sophisticated civilization based on oil. However, it is now waking up to the reality that the fossil fuels are not going to last forever. A paradigm shift, from reliance on fossil fuels to renewable resources, and a chemical industry transition to sustainable processes are needed to meet the challenges of resource depletion and climate disruption. Nature produces a vast amount of 170 billion metric tons of biomass per year by photosynthesis. Surprisingly, only a few percent is used by humans for food and non-food purposes. The size of this production is sufficient to supply virtually all of the raw materials now required for the chemical industry. Thus, biomass compounds are the most abundant renewable resources available, and they are currently viewed as a feedstock for the green chemistry of the future.

In direct analogy to a petroleum refinery, which produces fuels and chemicals from crude oil, a biorefinery is a facility that produces multiple products, including fuel, power, and bulk or fine chemicals, from biomass. Even though catalysis is regarded as a key enabling technology for biomass conversion, its deployment in biorefineries is still limited. More importantly, several of the catalysts used for biomass conversion are based on catalyst technology developed specifically for petroleum refining. Petroleum feedstocks are basically hydrophobic, in stark contrast to biomass hydrophilic, high oxygen content feedstocks. Hence, new catalytic processes are urgently needed with specifically tailored catalysts. This presents a unique opportunity which is yet to be exploited by the £12 Billion global catalyst market.

The complexity of the challenge cannot be met by single individuals, because innovation requires interdisciplinary research that integrates methods, skills and strengths of different disciplines. In line with this winning strategy, we intend to bring about a sizable step change in catalytic process development methodology by building on the diverse expertise of the team members, which includes catalytic chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, microreactor technology, systems engineering, in situ spectroscopy. This approach will ensure a level of understanding of biomass conversion processes that would enable the rapid evaluation of novel catalyst and catalytic processes. One unique feature of this research project is that we will develop rapid reaction profiling methodologies based on close interaction of experimental and theoretical investigations.

Impact on economy.
The chemical, biorenewables and catalysis industry will be main beneficiaries from this work, by accessing novel technology and catalysts for biomass conversion processes. Such catalysts will be more robust and efficient. The proposed approach will ultimately help reduce time and cost associated with scaling up from laboratory to production, due to the information-rich experimentation that is proposed. This can result to shortening of the development time from laboratory to commercial production. All the above will give a significant competitive advantage to the above industries, assisting them to remain at the forefront of innovation worldwide. Biorefineries are still in their infancy, so cutting edge technology will play a key role in their development and give the edge to companies which are entering this potentially lucrative area. The research proposed can lead to technology which is applicable to other materials manufacturing companies ranging from absorbents to energy storage materials, thus benefiting in the longer term other manufacturing industries.

Impact on knowledge.
This work will assist research and development laboratories involved in catalysis research, both in industry and academia to better understand, predict and optimize catalytic processes. Catalysis is a complex phenomenon that, despite several experimental and theoretical developments, still has an element of an "art", so that no accurate theory can substitute empirical investigation. Micro-structured continuous flow reactors offer unequalled experimentation conditions to explore catalytic processes, since small scales facilitate excellent control of flow patterns, transport phenomena and kinetic pathways. Novel synthesis routes of high value molecules will be introduced to the armoury of organic/synthetic/catalytic chemists.

Impact on society.
The health and quality of life of the wider public will benefit through the provision of new, low carbon footprint, sustainable processes. The public is acutely aware of the challenges facing our environment, to the extent that many are prepared to pay a premium for products manufactured in environmentally friendlier fashion. Thus, more efficient, cleaner and cheaper process solutions, will benefit the society through the use of these technological advances for green and sustainable chemical manufacture. Finally, new technological capabilities will influence policy makers legislating the chemical and energy industries.

Impact on people.
The project will result in highly trained researchers with professional skills in a wide range of areas, including catalytic science and catalyst design, chemical reactor engineering, microreaction technology, flow processing. It will develop their ability to work independently and in a team, expose them to interdisciplinary research and facilitate acquiring transferable skills that will enhance their learning process and broaden their horizons. These will make them valuable assets to R&D departments of chemical companies. EPSRC requires to grow research capability and trained people in particular in Catalysis which is marked as a Grow area of the EPSRC portfolio. Thus employing 3 PDRAs will make a contribution in that respect.

To make our results available to beneficiaries we will:
- Disseminate them through publications in scientific and trade journals and presentations at international conferences. Communication will be enhanced by webinars though targeted websites.
- Involve chemical industry through the Cardiff Catalysis Institute and engage with UCL Business together with Cardiff RACD to evaluate the technology, foster knowledge transfer and explore potential exploitation routes.