Project description
Novel catalysts for biomass conversion will fuel the transition to climate neutrality
Zeolites are very important heterogeneous catalysts (typically solids with liquid or gas reactants). These nanoporous materials offer many benefits thanks to their tiny cage-like cavities. The nanopores enable very-high surface area and higher density of active sites, and the reactions take place in very small places so the reactants are close and confined. Now, zeolites are among the most promising candidates for biorefinery catalysis. The EU-funded ZEOBIOCHEM project has pulled together a 16-member team of leading academic and industrial organisations in Europe and Asia to power the development of highly efficient zeolite catalysts for next-generation biorefineries supporting a climate-neutral European economy.
Objective
The EU's long-term strategy, ‘A Clean Planet for All’, is underpinned by a bioeconomy, with biorefineries playing an important role. Aiming to contribute to this strategy, the ZEOBIOCHEM project will develop novel functionalised hierarchical zeolites for highly-efficient biorefinery catalysis, supporting the EU’s grand vision to achieve a climate neutral Europe by 2050. The project will be carried out by an internationally-leading multidisciplinary consortium with a complementary expertise in materials chemistry, heterogeneous catalysis, process intensification, biomass conversion and life cycle sustainability assessment.
The research and innovation (R&I) activities will be performed collaboratively beyond the state-of-the-art by world-leading groups in relevant fields from the UK, Spain, Denmark, Hungary, China, Japan and Thailand. These activities will be facilitated by the international and intersectoral staff exchanges involving 200+ person-months, to enable the development of the next-generation biorefinery based on highly-efficient zeolite catalysts. Specifically, the project will develop hierarchical zeolites with optimised functionality (Brønsted, Lewis acidity and/or noble metal catalysts) for the biorefinery cases, such as bio-oil and sugar platforms upgrading and green solvent synthesis. To deliver the project outputs successfully, multidisciplinary expertise is essential. Thus, a high-quality and cross-disciplinary knowledge sharing and networking activities between the project partners will be established to address the R&I activities.
The project includes extensive training, knowledge transfer and networking activities which will (i) ensure the development of our researchers with multidisciplinary skills for the future innovation, (ii) enhance the career development of the participants and (iii) maximise the opportunity to establish new networks and strengthen the existing networks, towards the sustainable development of the ZEOBIOCHEM partnership.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Coordinator
M13 9PL Manchester
United Kingdom