Design of Catalytic Membrane Reactors for Biomass Hydrolysis and Separation

生物质水解分离催化膜反应器设计

• 批准号: 1264896
• 负责人: Xianghong Qian
• 金额: $ 20.03万
• 依托单位: University of Arkansas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-04-15 至 2017-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1264896&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Design; Catalytic; Membrane; Reactors; Biomass

PI: Qian, Xianghong and S. Ranil WickramasingheInstitution: University of ArkansasProposal Number: 1264896Title: Design of Catalytic Membrane Reactor for Biomass Hydrolysis and SeparationThe overall objective of this project is to develop a catalytic membrane reactor for biomass conversion that results in high yields of sugar at low cost. Most liquid phase processing technologies for production of biofuels start with monomer sugars (glucose, fructose, xylose, etc.) from biomass fractionation. The current paradigm uses corrosive, dilute sulfuric acid for pretreatment to hydrolyze hemicelluloses. Relatively expensive enzymes are used to break down cellulose. Current technology gives low sugar yields at high cost. The PIs will overcome these problems by designing sulfuric acid and enzyme replacement catalysts that operate at a higher conversion rate than the analogous natural enzymes and that cost far less to produce. The PIs aim to develop reusable, environmentally friendly catalysts for conversion of hemicelluloses and cellulose in one step in an aqueous, mixed water and ionic liquid (IL) solvent. Sugar yields will be improved by immediate separation of hydrolyzed monomer sugars thus minimizing degradation. The appropriate choice of the membrane and its pore size will allow permeation of an aqueous monomeric sugar stream and retention of the IL for reuse.This project is multidisciplinary in nature, encompassing catalyst synthesis via surface modification, product separation and computational chemistry. Low cost conversion of biomass to produce high yields of sugar will be achieved via the following approaches:o Application of combinatorial methods to the computational design of enzyme replacement catalysts for cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysis to monomer sugars.o Grafting computationally designed nanostructures from porous inorganic membrane surfaces in order to build a catalytic membrane reactor for simultaneous hydrolysis and sugar separation.Intellectual Merit: Solid-acid catalysts made of two neighboring polymeric nanostructures will be designed and synthesized. A polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSSA)-based nanostructure will be immobilized on inorganic membrane surfaces and used to catalyze biomass hydrolysis. A neighboring polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) nanostructure will help solubilize cellulose and enhance the catalytic activity. The solubilized monomer sugars will then be extracted from the reaction media through the pores of the membrane. The acidity and binding affinity of a PSSA polymer nanostructure can be tuned by ring substitution and/or copolymerization. Completion of the research will result in a catalytic membrane reactor for simultaneous hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose that maximizes sugar yields. Advances in materials science will include new surface modification methods for grafting complex customized nanostructures from membrane surfaces.Broader Impacts: Development of biofuels from cellulosic biomass as a replacement for fossil fuels could have important societal impacts: biofuels are renewable and sustainable energy sources; using biofuels can help minimize emissions of greenhouse gases to the environment. The research is multidisciplinary, leading to education and training opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students. International collaboration with University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany will provide international experiences for the students working on this project. Outreach activities that promote science and engineering to underrepresented minorities are an integral part of the these activities. The research and educational results will be disseminated widely in peer-reviewed journals. This work will result in the training of a new skilled work force in an to meet the challenges in moving from a fossil fuel dominated refinery industry to a future biorefinery industry.

主要研究者：钱向红，S. Ranil Wickramasinge机构：阿肯色大学提案号：1264896题目：生物质水解分离催化膜反应器的设计本项目的总体目标是开发一种用于生物质转化的催化膜反应器，以低成本获得高产率的糖。用于生产生物燃料的大多数液相处理技术从单体糖（葡萄糖、果糖、木糖等）开始。从生物质分馏。目前的范例使用腐蚀性稀硫酸进行预处理以水解半纤维素。相对昂贵的酶用于分解纤维素。目前的技术以高成本提供低糖产量。PI将通过设计硫酸和酶替代催化剂来克服这些问题，这些催化剂的转化率高于类似的天然酶，而且生产成本要低得多。PI旨在开发可重复使用的环境友好型催化剂，用于在水性混合水和离子液体（IL）溶剂中一步转化半纤维素和纤维素。糖产量将通过水解单体糖的立即分离来提高，从而最大限度地减少降解。适当选择的膜和其孔径大小将允许渗透的含水单体糖流和保留的IL reuse.This项目是多学科的性质，包括催化剂合成通过表面改性，产品分离和计算化学。低成本的生物质转化生产高产量的糖将通过以下方法实现：o应用组合方法计算设计酶替代催化剂，用于纤维素和半纤维素水解为单糖。o从多孔无机膜表面接枝计算设计的纳米结构，以建立一个催化膜反应器，用于同时水解和糖分离。智力优势：将设计和合成由两个相邻的聚合物纳米结构制成的固体酸催化剂。基于聚苯乙烯磺酸（PSSA）的纳米结构将被固定在无机膜表面，并用于催化生物质水解。相邻的聚合物离子液体（PIL）纳米结构将有助于增溶纤维素和提高催化活性。溶解的单体糖然后将通过膜的孔从反应介质中提取。PSSA聚合物纳米结构的酸度和结合亲和力可以通过环取代和/或共聚来调节。这项研究的完成将导致一个催化膜反应器，用于同时水解纤维素和半纤维素，最大限度地提高糖产量。材料科学的进步将包括新的表面改性方法，用于从膜表面接枝复杂的定制纳米结构。更广泛的影响：从纤维素生物质中开发生物燃料作为化石燃料的替代品可能会产生重要的社会影响：生物燃料是可再生和可持续的能源;使用生物燃料有助于最大限度地减少温室气体对环境的排放。该研究是多学科的，导致教育和培训机会，为研究生和本科生。与德国杜伊斯堡-埃森大学的国际合作将为参与该项目的学生提供国际经验。向代表性不足的少数群体推广科学和工程学的外联活动是这些活动的一个组成部分。研究和教育成果将在同行评审的期刊上广泛传播。这项工作将导致培训一支新的熟练劳动力，以应对从化石燃料主导的炼油工业向未来生物炼油工业转变的挑战。