Catalytic production of green esters from biomass feedstock in a biorefinery context

It is of utmost importance that we become a fossil free sustainable society and an important part is to valorize biomass. Biomass consist of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose and it is important to utilize them in the most efficient way. The lignin could be used to produce bio-fuels and the cellulose with advantage for green chemical production.

The aim in this project is to produce esters from cellulose. Esters are used for producing e.g. plastics, lubricants, paints and surfactants such as soap and detergents. We will develop energy efficient catalytic processes for cellulose valorization that can operate at low temperature, with high selectivity using heterogeneous catalysts, which reduces the energy need for heating and separation. In order to reach these goals we will develop novel catalysts. The produced esters will be examined in application tests and detailed sustainability and techno-economic analysis will be made to facilitate a possible future industrial up-scaling.