Project description
Sustainable fuels and chemicals from lignin
Lignocellulosic biomass, including woody biomass, is a non-edible source of biomass that is an especially attractive source for the production of chemicals, fuels and materials. It is composed of carbohydrate polymers (cellulose, hemicellulose), and an aromatic polymer (lignin). Lignin is the largest source of naturally occurring aromatics but has a complex and inhomogeneous structure that ultimately limits its wide use in the chemical industry. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SE project plans to develop a three -step process for the simultaneous production of degradable aromatic polyesters and 2-butene from lignin.
Objective
A high dependence of chemical industry on crude oil raises multiple concerns due to its limited supply and an environmental and politico-economic impact. Thus, the development of more sustainable and renewable systems for the production of fuels and materials is highly desirable. Biomass is an available and renewable source of an organic matter. Production of bio-based fuels and chemicals results in a carbon-neutral cycle.
Lignocellulosic biomass or woody biomass is a non-edible source of biomass. It makes lignocellulose an especially attractive source for the production of chemicals, fuels and materials, since it does not directly compete with the production of food.
Lignocellulose is in essence a mixture of three classes of polymers: cellulose (38–50 wt%), hemicellulose (23–32 wt%) and lignin (15–40 wt%). Cellulose is a polysaccharide with a regular, semi-crystalline structure; hemicellulose is an amorphous irregular polysaccharide comprising of xylose, galactose, arabinose, mannose, etc. Among these three components lignin stands out as being the largest source of naturally occurring aromatics. Lignin has a complex and inhomogeneous structure. That is why unlike carbohydrate part of biomass (cellulose and hemicellulose), lignin finds a limited application in the chemical industry.
In the current project we aim to develop an integrated process for the simultaneous production of degradable aromatic polyesters and 2-butene from lignin. This will be achieved in a three-step process. First, we will implement a reductive catalytic fractionation of wood to generate iso-eugenol and propenyl syringol from lignin . We envision to further transform these products into biphenolic compounds and butene via a metathesis reaction. In the final step we will convert bisphenols into polyesters via a condensation polymerization with maleic and succinic anhydrides.
Fields of science
- natural scienceschemical sciencespolymer sciences
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculescarbohydrates
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuels
- agricultural sciencesagricultural biotechnologybiomass
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesforestry
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
100 44 Stockholm
Sweden