Yan Zhao, professor of chemistry at Iowa State University. Credit: Iowa State University/Christopher Gannon
Iowa State University researchers are developing synthetic catalysts to break down cellulose. Cellulose is found in most biomass and presents a unique challenge for conversion to other useful resources as cellulose does not readily break down with traditional methods.
“Cellulose is built to last – a tree doesn’t just disappear after rain,” said Yan Zhao professor of chemistry at Iowa State University. “Cellulose is a huge challenge to break down.”
Zhao believes he has a solution that can break down the cellulose to make biomass a viable source of sugars for processes such as fuel and chemical production. To achieve the conversion, Zhao and his colleagues are turning to enzyme-mimicking catalysts. While natural enzymes could get the job done, they are expensive and have poor stability.
The researchers have been investigating these catalysts for 10 years and have recently secured a three-year, $700,000 grant from the NSF to further investigate the catalyst's uses for converting biomass to usable forms of sugar. The team plans to further investigate the catalysts by using computer simulations to visualize the reaction sites, the simulations, Zhao said, “will help us to better understand our system. This is a very complex system.”
The researchers are taking advantage of micelles, dynamic nanospheres that assemble into chains of molecules and can be solidified by ultraviolet light once formed around a template resembling the reaction site. The resulting structure is 5 billionths of a meter and has the exact shape of the reaction sites they will be used on. To complete the sugar conversion, the nanoparticle catalytic groups are pointed to the sugar linkages in the cellulose.
The researchers as well as Iowa State University are actively pursuing patent protection and are seeking commercial partners to advance the technology. “Biomass conversion is a big deal not only to the state of Iowa,” Zhao said “but the world right now is interested in a carbon-neutral economy and sustainability.”