(4ct) Converting Waste to Value Added Products: Thiol-Functionalized Hyper-Cross-Linked Milk Protein Polymers for Mercury Removal

1- Hyper-cross-linked organic polymers (HCPs) have recently attracted a lot of attention as their large surface area and strong interactions with other molecules making them highly appropriate for different applications. The production of this type of microporous polymers is usually accomplished by employing pricey reagents. As an inexpensive way of synthesizing HCPs scaffold, we create one step Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction with milk caseins, existing in high quantity and exhibiting unique polymer properties. To optimize the surface area of the polymer, the ratio of the catalyst (AlCl₃) to cross-linker was studied. Then, the polymer was decorated with sulfur functional groups to be a good candidate for mercury separation from the water and gas phase. Our approach together with characterization techniques (ICP, XPS, BET) validated that integration of thiol-groups into HCP leads to remarkable de-mercuration performance. Thiol-functionalized casein polymer scaffold is a suitable platform for trapping heavy metal ions with excellent capacity and selectivity which is comparable to current state-of-the-art nanoporous materials.

2- Biosynthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates and process optimization of bioplastic productions. The carbon source attributed to 50% of polyesters production cost which can be reduced by using renewable feedstocks such as lignocellulosic biomass.Annually, 181.5 billion tonnes of lignocellulosic biomass are generated from different agricultural sectors, so converting these agricultural residues into value-added products is critical for the development of bioeconomy. Lignocellulose is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin as well as some amounts of pectin, proteins, and minerals. Cellulose, a linear b-(1→4)-D-glucopyranoside polymer, is the most abundant natural resource in the world. Together with hemicellulose, can be degraded and hydrolyzed into sugars and chemically altered into valuable fuels, and/or fermented to bioplastics via consumption of cellulose by bacteria as the primary carbon source. There is a significant growing amount of lignin in North America, that annually approximately 50-million tonnes of it are generated by only the pulp and paper sectors. Out of this quantity, only 2% of lignin is consumed for energy production. Additionally, in the biofuel industry, each 150 million kg of ethanol generates 81 million kg of lignin annually. Lignin can be modified and altered to additives, coating material, and resins, but its utilization is limited due to its rigid structural properties. Converting lignin, the abundant source of aromatic compounds and the second massive renewable feedstock to bioplastics is of great interest of mine.

Teaching Interests

Proces simulation

Numerical method

Catalysis

Oraganic Chemistry

Polymer Chemistry