Thesis Chemistry Launches Green Chemicals Initiative
Posted by Sam Ricchezza on Thu, Jun 09, 2011
Approximately 95% of all chemicals manufactured today are derived from petroleum so there has been a greater push by government and industry associations to address the environmental impact that these chemicals produce. In recent years, initiatives have been undertaken to develop biorefinery processes that will create new green chemicals and biopolymers from renewable resources and biomass wastes.
Many challenges exist in producing consistent, functional chemicals from natural materials and biomass wastes. These require the development of novel approaches to extraction, fractionation and applying derivatisation chemistries to produce useful chemical products or intermediaries.
A major focus of this research is on the use of lignocellulosic (woody) biomass. Lignin is made up of aromatic molecules and is the only natural source of such chemicals outside of fossil fuels.
Our partner, Thesis Chemistry, has already successfully made laboratory-quality chemicals like vanillin and syringaldehyde from wood lignin and have announced that they have received funding from The Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio Economy (CRIBE) in Ontario to convert forest waste into green chemicals. It is an important step towards innovative commercialization of their technology. You can read more about the announcement by clicking on this link. If you would like more information, please contact Chris Forslund at cforslund@thesischemistry.com.
Green chemistry is innovative, smart, and ethically responsible. The most successful chemical companies of the future will be those who exploit its opportunities to their competitive advantage, and the most successful chemists of the future will be those who use green chemistry concepts in Research & Development and innovation.