GUWAHATI: A research team at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has developed efficient “pincer” catalytic systems that transform industrial waste into useful chemicals.
According to the researchers, tiny amounts of the “pincer (crab-like) catalysts” convert large amounts of industrial waste such as glycerol into lactic acid and hydrogen.
“Pincer catalysts also efficiently convert bioethanol, a low-energy density fuel into high-energy density butanol,” a statement issued here on Monday by the institute said.
The conversion of valuable intermediates such as glycerol and ethanol, produced during the processing of biomass, into industrially useful chemicals, has generated interest worldwide.
“A by-product in biodiesel production, glycerol can be transformed into lactic acid and hydrogen, the former used extensively in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and polymer industries, and the latter in the energy sector. Likewise, ethanol obtained from biomass can be converted into high quality fuel,” the statement said.
The findings have recently appeared in the Royal Society of Chemistry journals, Chemical Communications and Catalysis Science and Technology.
The research team comprises Akshai Kumar Alape Seetharam (department of chemistry and Centre for Nanotechnology), Hemant Kumar Srivastava, currently at National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) Guwahati, research scholars Kanu Das, Moumita Dutta, Siriyara Jagannatha Prathapa, Eileen Yasmin and Babulal Das,
“Pincer catalysts are complex molecules in which an organic moiety holds on tightly to a metal core, much like the claws of a crab”, says Akshai Kumar.
The research team rationally designed and tested a large library of “pincer catalysts”.
“The experiments were carried out under environmentally benign conditions without the use of hazardous reagents and solvents,” the statement said.
The results of the experiments have been validated by theoretical studies.
“Our computational studies have attributed the unprecedented activity of the pincer catalysts to the minimal crowding present at the metal centre and have enabled good understanding of the electronic and steric (crowding) factors that control reactivity,” says Srivastava.
The research team plans to take these bench-scale reactions to pilot-plant scale and ultimately to the commercial level with industrial collaboration.
“The team believes that the work will have a global impact on the commercial production of lactic acid/biofuels and their multi-billion-dollar market worldwide,” it added.
