IIT-G Develops Method to Transform Industrial Wastes into Chemicals

(The Tribune) The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) on Monday said its researchers have formulated efficient 'pincer' catalytic systems that transform industrial/biomass wastes into valuable chemicals.

According to the research team, tiny amounts of these 'pincer catalysts' repeatedly convert large amounts of industrial waste such as glycerol into lactic acid and hydrogen.

Such catalysts also efficiently convert bioethanol, a low-energy density fuel, into high-energy density butanol.

The conversion of valuable intermediates such as glycerol and ethanol, produced during the processing of biomass, into industrially useful chemicals has elicited much interest worldwide, the team said.

Glycerol, for example, which is a by-product in biodiesel production, 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.

While bioethanol has lower energy density than gasoline and corrodes engine parts when used directly, it can be transformed into higher energy butanol that is immiscible in water and non-corrosive in nature.

The research team plans to take these bench-scale reactions to pilot-plant scale and ultimately to the commercial level with industrial collaboration.

The research 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. READ MORE