Dauenhauer, an Assistant Professor of chemical engineering at UMass Amherst, said the new findings show that there is a way that is efficient, renewable to produce chemicals that have immediate and recognizable use for consumers. He said the plastics industry currently generates p-xylene of petroleum and renewable process that creates new exactly the same chemicals from biomass.
You can mix our renewable chemistry with petroleum-based materials and consumers will not be able to tell the difference, “said Dauenhauer.
The new process uses zeolite catalysts capable of converting glucose to p-xylene in three step reaction in high-temperature biomass reactor. Dauenhauer said this was a major breakthrough because other methods of generating renewable p-xylene is both expensive (for example, fermentation) or inefficient due to low yield.
Key to the success of this new process is the use of a catalyst which is specifically designed to promote the reaction of p-xylene to other less desirable. Dauenhauer says his research, Professor Wei UMass Amherst Fan and Raul Lobo from the University of Delaware, designed the catalyst. After a series of modifications, the team is able to help increase yields. He also said an additional modification of the further process can improve results of p-xylene and make the process more economically attractive.
