A core task of the Chair of Carbon Sources and Conversion is the exploitation of new regenerative carbon sources and the development of processes for the material use of this bound carbon. In the course of this, there are different types of renewable material that exist. In addition to fruits, flowers and leaves, plants consist largely of lignified fibers, with each part being made up of certain substances. The fats, oils and sugars contained in the fruits, leaves and flowers are mainly used for nourishments. The woody fibers, on the other hand, are largely used for pulp production. The carbon in these fibers is bound in the form of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, whereby the pulp industry only uses cellulose and hemicellulose. The lignin is separated by using complex processes and is hardly used as a material. Chemically, lignin is a high-molecular polymer made up of phenylpropane units, the composition of which differs from one type of wood to another.
In order to achieve a targeted use of lignin as a renewable carbon source on a technical scale, the morphology and chemical structure must be characterized. On the basis of this information catalyst systems can be developed for the targeted production of products with high selectivity. Phenols are a particularly interesting product class that is currently produced in the industry purely on the basis of crude oil. They are considered basic chemicals and are used in many areas of the chemical industry. In order to be able to extract phenols from lignin, the CSC Chair is developing new depolymerization processes. This is achieved by a highly interdisciplinary team from the fields of process engineering, catalyst development and analytical method development.
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Last update: Sep 24, 2024
