Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English en
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Organic Reactivities in BioRenewable Solvents

Project description

Paving the way to sustainable organic synthesis in bio-based solvents

Organic syntheses are essential to products including shampoos, soaps, plastics, paper and pharmaceuticals. Conventional organic solvents require oil or gas as feedstock. Refining organic synthesis protocols to use sustainable-by-design solvents based on renewable, plant-based raw materials will require reactivity studies on such solvents. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the ResolveByBio project aims to fill this gap with data on the electrophile-nucleophile reactions in bio-based solvents. Integrating bio-based solvents into Mayr’s database of reactivity parameters, the most comprehensive catalogue of reactivity data, will pave the way to a sustainable transformation of the EU’s chemical sector and achievement of EU Green Deal goals.

Objective

Reactivity studies for organic reactions have so far mainly been done in classical organic solvents (dichloromethane, acetonitrile, DMSO) which need oil or gas as feedstock, are hazardous and cause problems with the waste treatment. Given that almost all organic synthesis protocols need to be revised in a post-oil/gas era, non-toxic sustainable-by-design solvents which are based on renewable, plant-based raw materials will rapidly gain importance. Without reactivity data, however, an informed re-design of organic synthesis is impossible. ResolveByBio will deliver the data for defining the scope of electrophile-nucleophile reactions in biobased solvents, which will be used in the future. EU-located chemical suppliers have recently started to commercialize some of these biobased solvents. Though they have been considered expensive, the steep increase of prices for oil&gas-based chemicals makes them more and more attractive. Once established, scaling effects will make bio-based solvents strong price competitors of conventional solvents. However, these bio-based solvents are still awaiting broader acceptance in academia and commercial chemical applications. Integrating them in the currently most comprehensive reactivity scales (Mayr's Database of Reactivity Parameters) will foster their applications and significantly contribute to reducing the negative impacts of chemistry research and businesses on the environment. Thus, the data generated by the proposed project will deliver important building blocks for the conversion of the EU chemistry towards reaching the goals of the EU Green Deal by empowering chemists with the some of the most fundamental data that are required to change chemical processes.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Net EU contribution
€ 173 847,36
Address
GESCHWISTER SCHOLL PLATZ 1
80539 Planegg
Germany
Region
Bayern Oberbayern München, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
No data