I-Corps: Lignin derived bio-based materials and chemicals

该I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是能够开发出经济生产的石油化学品替代品。核心技术是将木质素转化为高附加值的可持续化学产品的过程，重点是高性能材料。这项技术的商业化将有可能大大减少塑料生产对环境的影响。这一发展还将为制浆造纸行业带来新的可持续收入来源，在纸张市场持续萎缩的情况下实现新的有机增长。此外，随着化学替代品市场的增长，木质素的增值产品将使生物炼制行业具有与石化产品竞争的成本优势。I-Corps项目的核心是通过催化解聚将木质素（木质生物质的结构成分）转化为具有成本竞争力的增值化学品和材料。木质素目前被认为是纸浆造纸和生物精炼工业的废物流，每年分离的7000万吨中有98%以上被燃烧用于能源回收。木质素的其他低价值用途包括混凝土，沥青和轮胎橡胶的填料，中等价值的应用包括聚合物复合材料和热解化学品。该提议的核心解聚技术分解木质素以产生平台化学品，与其他技术相比，其关键优势在于产品选择性。该化学产品在粘合剂、涂料和许多其他聚合物应用中有着广泛的应用，并且通常在热性能、机械性能和其他材料特性方面具有优异的性能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to enable the development of alternatives to petrochemicals can be economically produced. The core technology is a process for the conversion of lignin to value-added, sustainable chemical products with a focus on high-performance materials. The commercialization of this technology will potentially result in a significant reduction in the environmental impact of plastic production. The development will also unlock a new and sustainable revenue stream for the pulp & paper industry, enabling new organic growth as the paper market continues to shrink. Additionally, value-added products from lignin will potentially allow the biorefining industry to be cost-competitive with petrochemicals as the market for chemical alternatives grows.This I-Corps project is centered around converting lignin, the structural component of woody biomass, into cost-competitive, value-added chemicals and materials via catalytic depolymerization. Lignin is currently considered a waste stream by the pulp & paper and biorefining industries, with more than 98% of the 70 million tons separated annually being burned for energy recovery. Other low-value uses for lignin include fillers for concrete, asphalt, and tire rubber, and moderate-value applications include polymer composites and chemicals from pyrolysis. The depolymerization technology at the core of this proposal breaks down lignin to yield platform chemicals, with the key advantage over other technologies being the product selectivity. The chemical products have wide-ranging applications in adhesives, coatings, and many other polymers applications and are often performance-advantaged with respect to thermal and mechanical properties and other materials characteristics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.