You have to activate javascript to use this system.
Access denied
If you want to use this system with an 'Internert Explorer', than please use version 9 or higher.
Contact
ERA CoBioTech Call Office State Research Agency (AEI) Manuel Sánchez-Blanco
+34 916038447 era-ib@aei.gob.es
Technical helpdesk for the submission system Project Management Juelich Dr. Petra E. Schulte, Irina Kobrin, Dr. Christian Breuer ptj-cobiotech@fz-juelich.de
3rd Call: Bio-based replacement products, technologies and processes
Our subgroup (Biomass-derived building blocks) of the Department of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering at the National Institute of Chemistry in Slovenia is working intensively on chemocatalytic bio-refining, which includes the depolymerisation of lignocellulosic biomass into its main polymer units (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin), further chemocatalytic depolymerisation into monomer units and catalytic upgrading to the important bio-based building blocks, platform chemicals and value-added chemicals. Our interest focuses on several directions of LC biomass conversion (https://www.ki.si/fileadmin/user_upload/datoteke-D13/2019/Biomass_flyer_final.pdf):
- Organosolv and Kraft process (with conventional and alternative solvents)
- Extractives from LC biomass (pretreatment, isolation, purification, application)
- Depolymerisation of cellulose to glucose
- Chemocatalytic conversion of glucose into HMF and aldaric acid (dehydration, oxidation)
- Chemocatalytic upgrading of HMF
- Selective dehydroxylation of aldaric acids into adipic acid over rhenium catalysts
- Hydrodeoxygenation of levulinic acid
- Selective fractionation of lignin and its depolymerisation
- Chemocatalytic conversion of lignin monomers into value-added chemicals
- Development of sustainable catalytic processes for the production of important bio-based bifunctional monomers
- Synthesis of active, efficient and selective heterogeneous catalysts for bio-refining
- Reengineering of the mono- or bimetallic catalysts (on neutral, acidic or basic supports)
- Microkinetic modelling of selected processes (mass transfer, adsorption and desorption kinetics at the catalyst surface, kinetic transformations at the catalyst surface)
The National Institute of Chemistry has 351 employees (31. 12. 2019), of which around 292 carry out research work in 9 departments and two infrastructure centers; 149 of these have doctorates of science degrees. Basic and applied research are oriented towards fields which are of long-term importance to both Slovenia and the world: materials research, life sciences, biotechnology, chemical engineering, structural and theoretical chemistry, analytical chemistry and environmental protection; through which the institute is in line with the needs of the domestic and foreign pharmaceutical, chemical, automotive and nanobiotechnological industries. The work of the Institute is also in line with the priority thematic areas of the EU Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020, which places an emphasis on nanotechnology, genomics and biotechnology for health, climate change, energy, sustainable development and global change and quality and safety of food (https://www.ki.si/en/ ).
Department of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering is primarily invested in chemical (process) engineering, reactor and unit operation design and construction, as well as multi-scale process modelling. The Department topics foremost include biomass valorisation to bio-based compounds, carbon dioxide and natural gas conversion, hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, and (bio)pharmaceutical processes (https://www.ki.si/en/departments/d13-department-of-catalysis-and-chemical-reaction-engineering/ ).
The sub-group Biomass-derived building blocks fully covers the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into important building blocks, platform and value-added chemicals. The main topics concern the depolymerisation of LC biomass (e.g. wood residues) into its basic polymers (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin), further depolymerisation into their specific monomers and further chemocatalytic conversion and upgrading of monomers into important chemicals. The processes involved are catalytic hydrodeoxygenation, oxidation, dihydroxylation, carboxylation, decarboxylation, etc., usually performed in a three phase batch reactor (solid or liquid reacant + liquid solvent + solid catalyst + inert/oxidative/reductive gas phase). In addition to the experimental work, the sub-group is intensively involved in multi-level modelling of selected processes, which includes in silico studies (DFT & microkinetic modelling) (https://www.ki.si/fileadmin/user_upload/datoteke-D13/2019/Biomass_flyer_final.pdf ).