Summary
- Profile Type
- Technology offer
- POD Reference
- TOES20240509013
- Term of Validity
- 9 May 2024 - 9 May 2025
- Company's Country
- Spain
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistanceInvestment agreementResearch and development cooperation agreement
- Targeted Countries
- All countries
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General information
- Short Summary
- A Spanish University research group has developed a novel method for getting heterogeneous catalysts from biomass waste, utilizing highly dispersed metal nanoparticles. This process stands out for its simplicity, involving minimal synthesis steps and mild conditions, hence being environmentally friendly. It is easily industry-scalable and enables a cheap revaluation of biomass-derived waste. They look for companies interested in the acquisition of this technology.
- Full Description
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The bioeconomy is about providing sustainable solutions and enabling the transformation towards a sustainable economy. In this sense, biorefineries are essential for the development of the bioeconomy, as they replace fossil resources with renewable resources, converting biomass into fuels, electricity and chemicals. In this context, the importance of "platform molecules", which are molecules derived from biomass that serve as starting materials for the preparation of chemicals of various kinds, should be highlighted. These "platform molecules" include: succinic, fumaric, maleic, aspartic, glucaric, glutamic, itaconic, levulinic acids, glycerol, sorbitol, xylitol, ethanol, etc.
In the specific case of levulinic acid, the reactivity of the ketone and carboxylic functional groups gives it great versatility, and a large number of molecules of great interest can be prepared from it, such as esters, acrylic acid, gamma-valerolactone, etc.
Gamma-valerolactone (hereinafter GVL) can be obtained from the catalytic hydrogenation of levulinic acid. GVL is a molecule of great interest, both for its properties (it is water miscible, biodegradable and not very volatile), and for its wide range of applications: as an additive in food and cosmetics, as a green solvent, as a precursor in the synthesis of high value-added molecules (e.g. butene, valeric acid, etc.), in the preparation of fuels or fuel additives (valeric esters), etc.
The most commonly used heterogeneous catalysts for the hydrogenation of levulinic acid to GVL are ruthenium-based. Most of these catalysts contain relatively high amounts of ruthenium (between 1-5 wt.%), and the catalytic reaction is carried out using temperatures above 100 °C, both of which are critical factors in the high costs of the overall process, both from an economic and energy point of view.
Studies have been carried out in which the carbonaceous material used as catalytic support has been prepared from a biomass residue. For example, rice husks, almond shells, cotton reeds, etc. have been used, whose transformation requires high temperatures, numerous experimental steps, long synthesis times, and environmentally hazardous activating agents, obtaining moderate levulinic acid conversions and selectivities towards GVL, with the consequent disadvantages in economic and energy terms.
It is therefore necessary to find a suitable process to prepare heterogeneous catalysts with low metal phase contents that can be used in processes such as the selective hydrogenation of levulinic acid to GVL under mild reaction conditions, in a way that minimizes the economic and energy cost of the overall process, and that is aligned with the objectives of the circular economy.
To solve the problems described above, a new process has been developed to prepare heterogeneous catalysts consisting of carbonaceous materials derived from biomass residues and highly dispersed metal nanoparticles with low transition metal content.
The process to obtain these novel catalysts comprises the following steps:
1. Process and prepare the biomass.
2. Carbonising the processed biomass residues in an autoclave reactor.
3. Activating the carbonised product obtained in the previous stage.
4. Washing the activated carbon.
5. Dry the activated carbon.
6. Impregnate the activated carbon with the metal precursor.
7. Reduce the metal phase with a reducing agent.
8. Dry the obtained heterogeneous catalyst. For this purpose, a moderate temperature is used for a specified time.
A Spanish University research group has developed this novel method for crafting heterogeneous catalysts from biomass waste, utilizing finely dispersed metal nanoparticles. This process stands out for its simplicity, involving minimal synthesis steps and mild conditions, all while being environmentally friendly. It is easily industry-scalable and enables a cheap revaluation of biomass-derived waste. They look for companies interested in the acquisition of this technology. - Advantages and Innovations
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The main innovation lies in the use of agricultural waste (lignocellulosic biomass) to obtain heterogeneous catalysts containing low concentrations of ruthenium in the form of highly dispersed metal nanoparticles.
The present invention differs from current synthesis methods in that:
1) Activated carbons obtained from biomass residues rich in lignocellulose are used as support for the active phase.
2) Ruthenium contents are much lower than those present in commercial catalysts.
3) Mild reaction conditions are used.
4) The low temperature used for catalyst drying prevents the electronic properties of the surface of the metal nanoparticles from changing substantially.
5) The metal nanoparticles are highly dispersed on the surface of the activated carbon support, allowing many active sites for the chemical reaction of interest to take place with high efficiency and selectivity.
6) The activating agents used are not dangerous for the environment and, moreover, very low concentrations are used compared to conventional chemical activation, which reduces synthesis costs and environmental impact.
7) The method is very simple, with few steps and short synthesis times. - Stage of Development
- Lab tested
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 7: Affordable and Clean EnergyGoal 6: Clean Water and SanitationGoal 9: Industry, Innovation and InfrastructureGoal 12: Responsible Consumption and ProductionGoal 17: Partnerships to achieve the GoalGoal 13: Climate ActionGoal 15: Life on Land
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
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The present invention is framed both in the Circular economy sector and in the obtaining of high added value chemical products.
Specifically, a novel process has been found to prepare heterogeneous catalysts with low transition metal content from lignocellulosic biomass residues that can be successfully used in the conversion of organic compounds under mild reaction conditions, such as:
In the selective hydrogenation of levulinic acid to GVL.
In the decomposition of hydrogen-bearing molecules.
In the production of ammonia.
Other applications of interest.
This technology makes it possible to obtain carbonaceous materials with very low transition metal content, making them very promising catalysts to replace those currently used in the conversion of organic compounds of interest (for example, in the conversion of levulinic acid to GVL).
In this respect, the main sectors of interest are:
• The chemical industry.
• Pharmaceutical industry.
• Waste management (conversion of lignocellulosic biomass).
COLLABORATION SOUGHT
Companies interested in acquiring this technology for commercial exploitation are sought:
• Patent licensing agreements.
• Development of new applications.
• Technology and knowledge transfer agreements.
The ideal company profile sought is Catalyst manufacturer. However the owners of the technology are open to negotiating with other types of industrial partners that might be interested in it. - Type and Size of Partner
- R&D InstitutionOtherBig companySME 50 - 249SME <=10SME 11-49
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistanceInvestment agreementResearch and development cooperation agreement
Call details
- Coordinator required
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Yes
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 03004010 - Special chemicals, intermediates05001003 - Inorganic Chemistry
- Market keywords
- 06003009 - Biomass and Biofuels
- Targeted countries
- All countries
Files
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