GC-MS characterization of carboxylic acids and essential oils derived through through heterogeneous catalysis and extraction

世界化学工业的大趋势是用可再生资源——生物炼制——来代替石油。不同的生化和热化学途径被用来将碳水化合物、木质素、纤维素等分解成简单的分子，然后这些分子可以用作更复杂分子的基石——通常这些分子被用作燃料——甲醇、乙醇、丁醇、柴油等。与维持基本分子结构和生产功能更强的分子相比，将生物质转化为燃料增加的价值更少。该项目的目的是优化最有前途的途径之一，通过多相催化转化将糖、木质素、甘油（来自生物柴油）和乳酸转化为包括羧酸在内的增值化学品。

The mega trend for the world chemical industry is to substitute petroleum for renewable resources - biorefineries. Different biochemical and thermo-chemical routes are used to breakdown carbohydrates, lignin, cellulose, etc. into simple molecules which then may be used as building block to more complex molecules - often these molecules are used as fuel - methanol, ethanol, butanol, diesel, etc. Converting biomass to fuel adds less value versus maintaining the basic molecular structure and producing a more functional molecule. The aim of this project is to optimize one of the most promising routes for transforming sugars, lignin, glycerol (derived from biodiesel) and lactic acid into value added chemicals, including carboxylic acids, via heterogeneous catalytic conversion.