Partial depolymerization and upgrading of waste biomass and waste plastics have the potential to create new feedstocks for chemical manufacturing. Due to the long timescales for commercialization, academia is an appropriate place for fundamental studies of catalyst design and reaction mechanisms, mapping out possibilities for substantially new processes. Related studies are conducted in industrial R&D but on shorter timescales to evaluate feasibility. The two types of inquiry should be highly complementary, and yet both groups of researchers are often frustrated: academics by the apparent unwillingness of industry to change, and industrial researchers by the unrealistic expectations of their university colleagues. As long as there is no hurry, occasional intersections between the two styles serve the purpose of technology transfer well enough. However, the relatively short time horizon (2-3 decades) thought to be necessary for industrial decarbonization make it important to address this inefficiency. The talk will discuss how incentives that cause academics to be less responsive than they could be to industry needs should change, and how industry can provide important insight to academics who wish to solve problems relevant to industry.
