Upcycling wastes into chemicals and materials

废物作为一种宝贵的资源，可以转化为各种有用的产品，这是我发现研究计划的中心主题。这项提案的重点是有机和塑料废物的转化，并了解影响这种转化的方式，目的是使新技术能够用于有用的产品开发。传统的废物管理系统导致宝贵资源枯竭、填埋场枯竭、温室气体产生和有毒物质扩散到环境中。拟议的研究计划推进了目前用于废物管理的方法，并开发了高价值化学品和材料的创新途径。因此，这项建议将探索模仿自然的“闭环式方法”的概念。这一设想的先进闭环转化方法的一个独特方面是，通过利用一个过程的产出作为另一个过程的投入，目标是从废物转化的每个副产品中回收价值，从而实现零废物解决方案。这一发现研究计划的长期目标是开发各种各样的生物可再生产品，包括生物碳(潜在的煤炭替代品)、生物油(潜在的石油替代品)和合成气(任何燃料和有价值的化学品的主要组成部分)。为实现这一目标，拟议的研究包括三个热化学过程：(A)水热处理加氢半焦和可调生物复合材料；(B)富含氢气的合成气的化学循环气化和使用加氢半焦的过程中二氧化碳捕获；(C)石油化工产品的塑料和生物废物的催化热解。例如，通过具有所需形态特性的可调水热过程从有机废物中生产的氢焦可以与天然纤维一起加入到相应减少石油基碳的生物复合材料中。预计拟议的计划将产生新的和变革性的技术，这些技术将推动工业吸收，并导致更多来自剩余资源和废物的产品。废物将成为一种可再生资源，而不是一种负担。因此，这项研究将有助于向循环经济过渡，有助于创造新的就业机会，并有助于加拿大经济的多元化。这项提议的核心是为14名不同级别的学生提供培训。他们将通过设计一种可调配方工具箱来获得加拿大知识经济所需的技能，该工具箱可用于在废物转化过程中最大限度地提高碳效率、产品产量和催化剂寿命，从而改进目前最先进的计价方法。综合起来，这些解决方案代表着特定废物作为一种可行的、商业上相关的可持续原料的前景的一个转折点。通过传播他们的发现，学生的沟通技能将得到磨练。

Waste as a valuable resource that can be converted into a variety of useful products is the central theme of my discovery research program. This proposal focuses on organic and plastic waste conversion, and understanding the ways to influence such conversion with the goal of enabling new technologies for useful product development. The traditional waste management system contributes to the depletion of valuable resources, the exhaustion of land filling sites, the generation of greenhouse gases, and the dispersion of toxic materials into the environment. The proposed research program advances current approaches used for wastes management and develops innovative pathways for high-value chemicals and materials. Hence, this proposal will explore the concept of a "closed-loop approach" by mimicking nature. A unique aspect of this envisioned advanced closed-loop conversion approach is to target the recovery of value from every co-product of waste conversion by utilizing the outputs of one process as the input to another, leading to zero-waste solutions. The long-term goal of this discovery research proposal is to develop a wide variety of bio-renewable products, including bio-carbon (potential substitute for coal), bio-oil (potential substitute for petroleum), and syngas (the main building block of any fuel and valuable chemicals). To achieve this goal, the proposed research integrates three thermochemical processes (a) Hydrothermal processing for hydrochar and tunable bio-composite (b) Chemical looping gasification for H2-rich syngas with in-process CO2 capture using hydrochar; and (c) Catalytic pyrolysis of plastic and bio-waste streams for petro-chemical products. For example, the hydrochar produced from organic wastes through a tunable hydrothermal process with desired morphological properties can be incorporated, along with natural fibers, into bio-composites with corresponding reductions in petroleum-based carbon. It is expected that the proposed program will generate new and transformative technologies that will drive industrial-uptake and lead to more products derived from residual resources and wastes. Rather than being a liability, waste will become a renewable resource. Thus, this research will facilitate the transition to a circular economy, help in new job creation, and the diversification of Canada's economy. This proposal, at its core, is designed to provide training for 14 students at different levels. They will gain the requisite skills for Canada's knowledge-based economy by devising a tunable recipe toolbox that can be used to maximize carbon efficiency, product yields, and catalyst longevity during waste conversion, thereby improving current state-of-the-art valorization methods. When taken together, these solutions represent a tipping point in the prospects for specific waste as a viable, commercially relevant sustainable feedstock. The students' communication skills will be honed by disseminating their findings.