(4bk) Advancing Circular Biorefinery Technologies through Catalysis for Sustainable Utilization of Lignocellulosic Biomass

Biorefineries represent a pivotal avenue for the sustainable utilization of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB), comprising cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. My interest is towards the development of a comprehensive biorefinery process, emphasizing three key projects over an extended research trajectory. During the initial phase of my research tenure, the primary focus would be on Project 1, an extension of my PhD and postdoctoral research work and subsequently, my plan is to gradually expand to the utilization of hemicellulose (project 2) and fractionation of lignin to simpler compounds (project 3).

Project 1: Catalytic Conversion of Cellulose to value added products

Cellulose, a predominant component of LCB, holds significant promise as a renewable feedstock due to its abundance and chemical structure composed of glucose units. The primary objective is to build upon my PhD and postdoctoral research by concentrating on the production of 5-HMF from cellulose. This process involves several steps: cellulose hydrolysis to glucose, glucose isomerization to fructose, and fructose dehydration to 5-HMF [1]. During my PhD research, we investigated glucose dehydration to produce 5-HMF using various Ti and Zn-based metal oxide catalysts, achieving a ~58% yield of 5-HMF with complete glucose conversion. In my postdoctoral work, we are exploring the conversion of cellobiose (a cellulose model) using carbon-based catalysts, aiming to optimize the correlation between Lewis and Brönsted acidity for enhanced 5-HMF yield and selectivity. However, this reaction is susceptible to side reactions that affect both 5-HMF yield and separation, compounded by catalyst stability concerns due to complex side reactions. To overcome these challenges, this project aims at gaining a deeper understanding of the process to develop an effective and stable catalytic system. This system should improve the efficiency and selectivity of 5-HMF production under mild and economically feasible batch and continuous reaction conditions. Subsequently, the project plans to explore other products such as levulinic acid, 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, lactic acid, sorbitol, etc. Additionally, I intend to extend the application of developed catalysts to utilize alternative feedstocks like food waste or raw lignocellulosic biomass.

Project 2: Valorization of Hemicellulose through Furfural Production

Hemicellulose, another significant component of LCB, consists mainly of xylose. Xylose derived from hemicellulose can be converted into furfural through catalytic dehydration. Furfural is a promising platform chemical that can serve as an alternative to petrochemical-derived applications such as plastics, resins, and lubricants [2]. However, efficient conversion of hemicellulose to furfural requires the development of effective catalysts and process optimization strategies. Using similar Lewis-BrÓ§nsted acid catalysts (used in project 1) could be a promising initiative to begin furfural production. Therefore, as a future prospect, this could serve as a good starting point for the successful utilization of biomass in a circular biorefinery context.

Project 3: Sustainable breakdown of Lignin into simpler molecules

For a sustainable development of biorefinery, utilization of lignin is particularly important. Lignin is a complex polymer of aromatic compounds, and it is valuable yet underutilized due to its heterogeneity and structural complexity [3]. To address this challenge, this future research plan will explore novel catalytic systems that enhance the efficiency and selectivity of lignin deoxygenation and depolymerization, aiming to produce high-value aromatic compounds. Optimization efforts will focus on understanding catalyst development based on transition metals (such as nickel, palladium, ruthenium), metal oxides (such as titanium dioxide) or porous materials based on carbon.

Teaching interest:

During my undergraduate and graduate’s courses, my interest was developed to continue in the field of catalysis and reaction engineering. Therefore, I am eager to teach undergraduate courses like Chemical Reaction Engineering and Unit Operations, and graduate courses such as Heterogeneous Catalysis and Advanced Chemical Reaction Engineering. Additionally, I aim to introduce new subjects like Biorefinery Engineering as departmental elective and Design of Experiments (DOE) as open elective at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Teaching experience: I have one year of teaching experience at chemical engineering department, MANIT Bhopal, India (an institute of national importance) and six months of teaching experience after my PhD at the school of Chemical Technology at HBTU Kanpur, India. Additionally, during my PhD, I guided BTech students on their projects, providing mentorship and support to help them achieve their academic goals.

Publications:

• Richa Tomer and Prakash Biswas*, Dehydration of glucose/fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) over an easily recyclable sulfated titania (SO₄^2-/TiO₂) catalyst, New Journal of Chemistry 44 (2020) 20734–20750.
• Richa Tomer, Prakash Biswas*, Dehydration of glucose over sulfate impregnated ZnO (hexagonal-monoclinic) catalyst in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) medium: Production, separation, and purification of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) with high purity, Catalysis Today, 404 (2022) 219–228.
• Richa Tomer, Prakash Biswas*, Optimization of reaction parameters by using response surface methodology (RSM) for the selective dehydration of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), a valuable platform chemical over a mesoporous TiO₂ catalyst in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) medium, Catalysis Today, 404 (2022) 201–218.
• Richa Tomer, Prakash Biswas*, Reaction kinetics study and the estimation of thermodynamic parameters for the conversion of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) medium in the presence of a mesoporous TiO₂ catalyst, Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers 136 (2022) 104427.

Conference proceedings:

• Richa Tomer, Somsubhru Maity, Prakash Biswas^*, Conversion of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) over sulfated zinc oxide catalyst, Proceedings of the International Conference on Advances in Chemical Engineering (AdChE) 2020, February 5-7, 2020.
• Richa Tomer, Prakash Biswas, Catalytic conversion of glucose to building block chemicals: 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural, Formic acid, and Levulinic acid, 2021 AIChE Annual Meeting, 2021.

References:

1. Wang, P. Berton, H. Zhao, S.L. Bryant, Md G. Kibria, and J. Hu, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 2021 9 (48), 16115-16122.
2. L. Job, S. M. Stratton, C. E. Umhey, K. A. Hoo, and Stephanie G. Wettstein, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 2022 10 (1), 177-181.
3. Ma, X. Zhang, Scientific Reports 2022, 12, 19136.
4. Cao, I. K. M. Yu, L. Yaoyu, X. Ruan, D. CW Tsang, A. J. Hunt, Y. S. Ok, H. Song, and S. Zhang. Bioresource Technology 2018 269, 465-475.