Catalytic deoxygenation of biomass derived polyalcohols using acid-, water- and high-temperature stable Ruthenium complexes.

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Sugars and derivatives obtained by the digestion of non-food biomass such as straws, corn stover, wood chips, barks, grasses, etc., which is widely available from Canada's agriculture and forestry sectors and could in principle be used as the renewable carbon feed stock for the development of a truly sustainable chemical industry supplying fuel as well as basic chemicals for the manufacture of plastics, coatings, paints, resins, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. From a chemist's perspective these sugar derivatives have however very different properties than the fossil carbon feeds (natural gas crude oil and coal) that presently define our technology and civilization. They therefore need to go undergo substantial chemical transformations in order to be usable as either liquid fuels or polymer building blocks. In particular, the oxygen content of the sugar derivatives is too high and their overall reactivity to uncontrollable for them to be integrated into the existing production streams of the chemical industry. In order to address this challenge, we are trying to develop new processes that can lower the oxygen content of these molecules by a process called "hydrodeoxygenation" that removes oxygen atoms as water by reaction with hydrogen gas, which in turn can be obtained by electrolysis of water using renewable electricity generated from Wind and Solar. This can convert the biomass to a carbon feed that is effectively identical to that obtained from the refining of crude oil, but ultimately originates from locally grown plant material. The realization of such hydrodeoxygenation process requires the use of catalysts, i.e., man-made metal-based compounds that can enable, accelerate and direct the type of chemical transformation required. The focus of the Schlaf Research Group at the University of Guelph is therefore on the rational design, testing and evaluation of such catalysts and the development over the overall technical process. Since at present we consume up to 10 calories of fossil carbon energy to grow and deliver 1 calorie of food to the end user (as Diesel oil to run farm machinery and delivery trucks, but also due to fertilizer and pesticide use) we believe this work to be of critical long-term strategic importance to the security of our food supply.