Date:25November2019
Country: United Kingdom
Sugarcane
Wheat
Process waste/Secondary residue
Straws
Biochemicals
air fresheners,fabric softener,flavouring
Medicine
life-saving medicines
Application
Description This project, a collaboration between the UK and Brazil, has made a breakthrough in transforming waste biomass like sugarcane bagasse and wheat straws into high-value chemicals, increasing their value by 5000-fold. The simplified 'one-pot' process converts waste sugar cane and wheat straw into valuable chemicals, such as those used in the food industry and precursors for human therapeutic drugs, offering a more viable economic model for biofuel production.
Pathway Description: The one-pot process involves using a photocatalyst to selectively break specific bonds in lignin under light exposure, directly converting it into soluble oligomers in a single reaction vessel. This streamlined approach eliminates the need for multiple steps, making the process efficient and sustainable for producing intermediate materials for eco-friendly plastics.
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Tags: Waste sugar cane utilizationWheat straw valorizationBiomass into high value chemicals
Biochemicals
air fresheners,fabric softener,flavouring
Medicine
life-saving medicines
Types of Feedstock
Secondary agricultural residue
Name
Sugarcane bagasse,Wheat straws
Form
Fibrous biomass
Commercials
Abundant in Brazil; low-cost byproduct often burned as waste,Abundant in the UK; low-cost agricultural byproduct
Logistics
Readily available from sugar mills,Easily collected post-harvest
Characteristics
High lignocellulosic content
Chemical
one-pot process
Educational Institution
The University of Manchester, The University of Warwick