SOLBIOCHEM · Solar-driven Electrocatalytic Biomass Upgrading to Value-added Chemicals
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-07-01 → 2022-06-30
- EU contribution
- €137,423
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
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Results in brief
Solar-driven Electrocatalytic Biomass Upgrading to Value-added Chemicals
Modern society in the European Union and around the world is currently highly dependent on the large-scale production of chemicals from fossil resources in conventional refineries, which contributes to make the chemical industry one of the most CO2 intensive industry on the planet. Therefore, in the context of the current energy transition, it is necessary to develop alternative ways to generate carbon-based molecules with a reduced CO2 footprint. In particular, using lignoceelulose as a contemporary, renewable source of carbon in biorefineries powered with renewable energy is seen as a promising path forward. One possible model for these biorefineries is the coupling of a first unit dedicated to the depolymerisation/break down of polymeric biomass molecules with a second unit capable of upgrading the molecules obtained in the first step to value-added chemicals and fuels. Moreover, the use of electrocatalysis to perform this chemical upgrading is attractive due to its operation at ambient conditions of temperature and pressure, its ability to be directly powered by renewable electricity and its reliance on water as a source of protons and oxygen atoms (as opposed to molecular H2 and O2 in thermocatalytic processes). SOLBIOCHEM proposed the development of earth-abundant electrocatalysts for the valorisation of biomass-derived platform-compounds, and in particular the furanic furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) molecules extracted from celullose and hemicellulose respectively. Moreover the ultimate goal of the project was to couple this electrocatalytic upgrading with electricity generated from sunlight by a photovoltaic device or inside a photoelectrochemical cell. Over the course of the action, we were able to develop micro-structured copper-based cathodes capable of converting furfural selectively into furufryl alcohol or methylfuran in aqueous electrolytes with significantly improved activity compared to state-of-the-art reports. Moreover, efficient CuInxGa(1-x)S2 photocathodes were produced, in order to be coupled with the aforementioned copper electrocatalyst. The investigation of HMF oxidation on Ni-based anodes was also started within the framework of this action, with preliminary results on the influence of the calcination temperature of the catalysts on its selectivity towards different oxidation products of HMF.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The urgency of addressing climate change and the plummeting costs of renewable solar and wind-generated electricity put these technologies at the forefront of the energy transition to move away from fossil fuels.Moreover, as our reliance on fossil resources is decreasing, it is important to think not only about replacing them as an energy source, but also about using renewable technologies to take over the carbon-based chemicals produced by the petrochemical industry. To achieve this, the most abundant and potentially sustainable source of carbon is the biomass, which stores contemporary carbon, and can be readily harvested, transported and stored. Indeed, derivatives of cellulose or the glycerol generated by the growing biofuel industry are prime candidates for the production of value-added compounds in a “bio-refinery”. So far, upgrading of these biomass-derived compounds has traditionally been studied using thermocatalytic processes on noble metals, which presents challenges such as catalyst cost, the need for high temperature and pressurized gases and the generation of coke that can poison and deactivate catalysts. Alternatively, with the access to increasingly cheaper renewable electricity, electrocatalytic processes have a strong appeal, as they are conducted at room temperature, typically rely on abundant H2O as a proton and/or oxygen source, and can provide fine control over the rate and product selectivity through monitoring of the applied potential.This research proposal aims at developing and studying new electrocatalytic materials made of Earth-abundant transition metal oxides and sulfides, for the valorisation of biomass-derived molecules. The associated performance and mechanisms will be investigated by means of electrochemistry and operando techniques, and integration of the best electrocatalysts with solar energy conversion systems will be explored to demonstrate direct use of sunlight to power biomass conversion in a sustainable fashion.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS · ParisCoordinatorFrance
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union