Lignocellulosic biomass is a green alternative fossil resource to produce fuels and value-added chemicals (e.g. polyols). Petronas have successfully developed Raney nickel and tungstic acid binary catalysts used in direct synthesis of pre-treated biomass hydrogenolysis to polyols. This conversion of biomass into polyols is one of the promising technologies to address the global issues on searching alternative energy/carbon sources to replace the limited reserves of fossil resources. The process couples the hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose and the hydrogenation of glucose to polyols, including Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG). Ethylene Glycol is one widely used monomers for industry. The self-supported binary catalysts become inactive after several runs and are considered spent. Effective regeneration of the used Raney nickel and tungstic acid is desired to reduce or prevent the catalyst replacement that will improve the economic performance including minimising the cost of scheduled waste treatment.
This will be addressed in this project by determining the catalyst structure in its fresh and spent forms, exploring the catalyst deactivation mechanism, increasing the catalyst life time, developing an effective catalyst regeneration method for catalyst regeneration. Both experiments and Quantum Mechanics based atomistic simulations (adopting Density Functional Theory) will be carried out to explore reaction mechanisms of biomass-to-polyols on catalyst surface.
This innovated project is ideally suited to students with the creativity and motivation to solve engineering problems using scientific-based principles. The student may expect to build his/her career in the area of Environment, Sustainability and Green Chemistry.
The applicant will work closely with other PhD students and academics in the research team, that involves researchers from both University of Strathclyde and National Petroleum Limited in Malaysia (Petronas). The candidate will be expected to participate in relevant national and international conferences, and develop journal papers within the research field.
In addition to undertaking cutting edge research, students are also registered for the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Development (PGCert), which is a supplementary qualification that develops a student’s skills, networks and career prospects.
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