Transforming residual lignins from cellulosic ethanol into hydrocarbons for sustainable aviation biofuels

• Grant number: 23/09157-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: January 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Eduardo Driemeier
• Grantee: Gustavo Rodrigues Gomes
• Supervisor: Arthur Ragauskas
• Host Institution: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Tennessee (UT), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/13455-2 - Depolymerization of residual lignins from cellulosic ethanol: towards a novel platform for renewable chemicals, BP.PD

Abstract

Sugarcane cellulosic ethanol is being replicated at an industrial scale with Brazilian leadership. This biorefining technology generates a lignin-rich residue that can be transformed into biochemicals and liquid biofuels. A significant interest is the development of drop-in biofuels that can be used in the existing engines and fuel infrastructure. For this application, lignin is an attractive feedstock due to its low degree of oxygenation (compared to carbohydrates) and source of cycloalkanes and aromatic fuel components. This internship project will be conducted at the Prof. Ragauskas group at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK), a world-class, renowned research group on lignin chemistry. The project aims at producing jet-fuel range hydrocarbons through a combination of lignin pyrolysis and hydrodeoxygenation in methanol using Cu-doped porous metal oxides (CuPMO) catalyst. The project will combine the expertise of LNBR/CNPEM on sugarcane cellulosic ethanol and its lignin-rich residue with the foreign group's lignin transformation and analytical expertise to produce jet-fuel range cycloalkanes and aromatics from lignin. (AU)