Monomers and Functional Biopolymers from Renewable Lipid Resources

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Modern life relies on polymers which are used in wide range of industrial applications including packaging, automotive, construction, sporting, medicine, diagnostics and electronic. The monomers for synthesis of these polymers are primarily sourced from petroleum. Due to concerns over the sustainability of petroleum and the increasing anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), the conversion of renewable feedstocks into monomers and biopolymers is highly desirable. Therefore, the conversion of renewable fats/oils into monomers using olefin metathesis chemistry has gained interest. My research group at the University of Alberta is developing biobased monomers and polymers from renewable lipid resources using metathesis approach. Recently, with 3 patents awarded, my laboratory developed a solvent free microwave assisted metathesis process using homogeneous catalysis to convert renewable lipids into monomers and subsequent biopolymers. Based on these finding, a new spin off biorefinery has been incorporated. However, to overcome the critical technical barriers such as high catalyst cost, moisture sensitivity, and deactivation of catalyst leading to metal contamination of metathesis products, the development of recyclable, reusable, moisture stable and cost effective heterogeneous catalysis is required for large scale transition to lipid biorefining. In contrast to the well-defined homogeneous catalysis, the progress on heterogeneous metathesis catalysis of renewables has been limited due to the challenges in effective immobilization to maintain catalytic activity and poor understanding of the process of the catalyst deactivation in renewable feedstocks. In this DG, we will focus on the development of moisture stable, recyclable and reusable polymer immobilized homogeneous and nano-supported heterogeneous catalysts for microwave-assisted metathesis of renewable lipidic feedstocks. Another goal of the research will be to prepare renewable polycarbonates using carbon dioxide (CO2) and internal olefinic monomers produced from metathesized lipids. The proposed research program will contribute to fundamental knowledge discovery in the areas of design and synthesis of heterogeneous supports, catalysts immobilizations, catalyst recycling in lipid conversions and biopolymers synthesis using produced monomers and CO2. Research in these areas is highly multidisciplinary and will lead to advances in green catalysis techniques for conversion of renewable resources into monomers and polymeric materials. The research will reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, reduce GHG emissions and facilitate the transition to a bioeconomy. The anticipated output of this proposed research would be development of economically viable heterogeneous catalytic processes which can lead to rapid potential commercialization. The proposed research program will provide a unique environment towards the training of highly qualified personnel