The new catalyst developed by Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, enables the sustainable production of plastics and also generates hydrogen as a potential clean energy source.
Dulce Morales, Steffen Cychy, Stefan Barwe, Dennis Hiltrop, Martin Muhler and Wolfgang Schuhmann.
Image source: Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany (RUB)
A chemist at Ruhr University (RUB) in Bochum, Germany, has developed a new low-cost catalyst for the production of plastics. It converts biorefined products into raw materials for synthetic plastics, which will be the most widely used PET. A sustainable alternative to ethylene terephthalate; at the same time, clean energy hydrogen can also be produced during the reaction.
The study was conducted by a team of Dr. Stefan Barwe and Dr. Wolfgang Schuhmann from the Bochum Electrochemical Science Center under the leadership of Dr. Martin Muhler in collaboration with the RUB laboratory. The researchers were published on Angewandte Chemie on July 9, 2018. The study.
'If we no longer use crude oil as a raw material, but use biomass that cannot be used as food, then we have taken a big step towards the sustainable chemical industry,' Wolfgang Schuhmann said.
Alternative to PET
In this study, Bochum researchers developed a nickel-boride catalyst because it does not contain any precious metals and is easier to obtain and less expensive than many other catalysts. It can be used to biorefinite HMF ( Conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to FDCA (2,5-furandicarboxylic acid). 'FDCA has a pivotal position in the industry because it can be processed into polyester, thus producing a substitute for PET - PEF ( 2, 5-furandicarboxylate), all of which are based on renewable raw materials, ie plants. 'Stefan Barwe explains.
Hydrogen generation reduces energy consumption
In the tests conducted by the Bochum team, In just half an hour, the catalyst can convert 98.5% of the raw material HMF to FDCA, and there are no other by-products. 'We further designed the catalyst to ensure catalytic efficiency while successfully generating hydrogen,' Stefan Barwe said. This is another innovation in this research. Therefore, researchers can also use this raw material to generate hydrogen as a potential source of energy. Hydrogen is generally obtained from water by electrolysis, and water electrolysis produces oxygen. When the researchers collect hydrogen while producing FDCA, the energy-consuming reaction step of oxygen release is deliberately eliminated.
Reaction mechanism
The team also used electrochemical methods and infrared spectroscopy to further elucidate the reaction. This is the first time chemists have been able to track in real time which intermediate product converts HMF to FDCA.