Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PureSurf (Bio-based surfactants from renewable waste streams for the circular economy)
Reporting period: 2022-05-01 to 2023-04-30
Surfactants are centrally important in our modern society, and omnipresent in many industrial sectors. The most well-known, and by scale most important, applications are laundry, home and personal care sectors but these molecules are also crucially important in application areas related to agrochemicals, coatings, dyes, paints, enhanced oil recovery and pharmaceuticals. Knowing this, it is unsurprising that more than 20 million tons of surfactants are produced globally, every year. However, the surfactant industry faces serious challenges, related to manufacturing routes, and raw materials supply. It is concerning that roughly half of the currently produced surfactants still fully rely on petrochemicals , whereas only less than 5% can be considered fully-biobased (≥95% renewable carbon). Beyond that, the predominately utilised renewable feedstock for surfactant synthesis are palm kernel oil and coconut oil, which, from a European perspective, have to be imported, usually from distant locations (e.g. Southeast Asia), while this necessary transport further contributes to CO2 emissions. The COVID-19 crisis as well as the recent Suez channel blockage have clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of established supply chains and pointed at the problematic nature of the high dependence on foreign markets.
Within the EIC Transition project PureSurf, we aim to develop novel high-performance bio-based surfactants, that can be sourced solely from locally available, renewable and industrially relevant side-product and waste- streams. Herein, our goal is the utilisation of raw materials that do not compete with food, such as waste cooking oils or rendering fats, or currently heavily underutilised feedstocks such as lignin, originating as side-product of the paper and pulp industry, or lignocellulose-containing agricultural and forestry waste-streams, as well as waste sugars and their derivatives. For the manufacturing of our novel surfactants, we have introduced a highly modular ‘PureSurf synthesis platform’, which is deeply rooted in the 12 principles of Green Chemistry and allows for the sustainable and waste-free, energy and atom-efficient synthesis of target molecules. In this project we will perfect our synthetic routes and apply these for the scale-up of selected surfactant molecules. These compounds will then undergo rigorous evaluation of their performance (e.g. critical micelle concentration, foaming, surface/interface tension, wetting) as well as biodegradability and toxicity. Also, the techno-economic feasibility of the manufacturing routes is foreseen within the project. Furthermore, we regard a strong interaction with relevant players along the whole surfactant value chain as essential to create the ideal market fit for our products, thus a feedback loop is deeply embedded in our development & decision matrix, to further our ultimate commercialization goals.
Within the EIC Transition project PureSurf, we aim to develop novel high-performance bio-based surfactants, that can be sourced solely from locally available, renewable and industrially relevant side-product and waste- streams. Herein, our goal is the utilisation of raw materials that do not compete with food, such as waste cooking oils or rendering fats, or currently heavily underutilised feedstocks such as lignin, originating as side-product of the paper and pulp industry, or lignocellulose-containing agricultural and forestry waste-streams, as well as waste sugars and their derivatives. For the manufacturing of our novel surfactants, we have introduced a highly modular ‘PureSurf synthesis platform’, which is deeply rooted in the 12 principles of Green Chemistry and allows for the sustainable and waste-free, energy and atom-efficient synthesis of target molecules. In this project we will perfect our synthetic routes and apply these for the scale-up of selected surfactant molecules. These compounds will then undergo rigorous evaluation of their performance (e.g. critical micelle concentration, foaming, surface/interface tension, wetting) as well as biodegradability and toxicity. Also, the techno-economic feasibility of the manufacturing routes is foreseen within the project. Furthermore, we regard a strong interaction with relevant players along the whole surfactant value chain as essential to create the ideal market fit for our products, thus a feedback loop is deeply embedded in our development & decision matrix, to further our ultimate commercialization goals.
So far, we created a library of >60 surfactants that can be divided into three different categories: zwitterionic amin-oxides, anionic gemini sulphonate and zwitterionic amino acid-based surfactants. The inclusion of a renewable aromatic linker between the headgroup- and the tail moiety allows for a simple, selective and benign synthesis of multifunctional compounds, containing either, one, two, or even three polar heads as well as either one or two aliphatic tail moieties. We managed to scale up the synthesis of selected examples to 500 g with intermediate steps already surpassing the 1 kg per batch mark. We have also extended the initial portfolio by another aromatic monomer stream, guaiacol.
Current activities include the scale-up of selected surfactant molecules towards 1 kg, determination of biodegradability and (eco)-toxicity, concluding physicochemical characterization and the inclusion of industrially available waste streams in the surfactant synthesis. Furthermore, perfecting the synthetic methodologies and expansion of the available surfactant structures, is a central part of our research activities. Hence, we are exploring a variety of novel transformations to further reduce the number of necessary synthetic steps, or move to one-pot methodologies. We also aim to expand the variety of usable feedstocks and attachable headgroup to expand and strengthen our patent portfolio.
Current activities include the scale-up of selected surfactant molecules towards 1 kg, determination of biodegradability and (eco)-toxicity, concluding physicochemical characterization and the inclusion of industrially available waste streams in the surfactant synthesis. Furthermore, perfecting the synthetic methodologies and expansion of the available surfactant structures, is a central part of our research activities. Hence, we are exploring a variety of novel transformations to further reduce the number of necessary synthetic steps, or move to one-pot methodologies. We also aim to expand the variety of usable feedstocks and attachable headgroup to expand and strengthen our patent portfolio.
Multiple important players within the European surfactant industry strongly desire to tackle the decarbonisation of their segment, while sharply reducing the import dependency of raw materials. Moreover, new research directions should pave the way towards establishing new scientific knowledge and methods for the manufacturing of ‘future fit’ products, including both the increasing of the performance of the products, as well as the shift to a fully bio-based structure. The PureSurf project addresses exactly these needs, while surfactants exclusively from European feedstocks with properties that rival or exceed the petrochemical counterparts are targeted. Ultimately, the results of the EIC Transition project PureSurf could result in the gradual phase-out of fully-petrol based surfactants if an attractive price-to-performance ratio can be found.
To achieve our goals, , further research will be necessary, especially in the domains of biodegradability and ecotoxicity, to ensure that not only bio-based and high performing but also harmless products enter the market. Furthermore, the successful demonstration in a customer formulation, scale-up to the multi kg-scale (& beyond) and launch of a first minimum viable product represent major future milestones. To achieve all of this, securing further IPR, specifically patenting product formulations, letter of commitments and customer agreements, as well as a small-scale pilot plant and above all finance beyond the EIC Transition Grant will be necessary.
To achieve our goals, , further research will be necessary, especially in the domains of biodegradability and ecotoxicity, to ensure that not only bio-based and high performing but also harmless products enter the market. Furthermore, the successful demonstration in a customer formulation, scale-up to the multi kg-scale (& beyond) and launch of a first minimum viable product represent major future milestones. To achieve all of this, securing further IPR, specifically patenting product formulations, letter of commitments and customer agreements, as well as a small-scale pilot plant and above all finance beyond the EIC Transition Grant will be necessary.