(5ae) Solvent Engineering for Biorefining Catalysis and Separations

Efficient biomass utilization to produce fuels and chemicals is one of the key challenges facing chemical engineers today. At the core of this problem is the need to embrace renewable feedstocks while leveraging our existing petrochemical infrastructure. Energy-efficient unit operations, novel processes, and advanced separation and catalytic reaction engineering concepts must be developed for the biorefinery of the future. Alternative solvents including supercritical fluids and switchable solvents have tremendous potential in these areas. My research is aimed at exploiting the synergies between catalysis and solvent engineering to develop unique processes for the biorefinery.

For example, biomass pyrolysis oil (bio-oil) has the potential to dramatically impact the transportation fuel sector of the energy market, but new approaches must be used to efficiently upgrade bio-oil to a refinery-ready feedstock. Switchable solvents may be able to selectively extract polar compounds from bio-oil, separating the bio-oil into more homogeneous fractions for upgrading to hydrocarbon fuels or value-added chemical intermediates. For chemical processes, supercritical solvents can enhance hydrogen availability such as in the hydrogenation of triglycerides, enabling milder reaction conditions and reducing both capital and raw materials costs. Specific fundamental and practical aspects of these challenging problems will be highlighted.