OVERVIEW

The vast majority of synthetic carbon-based materials are currently made from a handful of petroleum-derived building blocks, including ethylene, propylene, butenes, benzene, toluene, xylene and methanol. These components are converted, using chemistry, into polymers, coatings, adhesives, sealants, building materials, automotive components, packaging, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, insulation, medical equipment, optical components, cleaning agents, furnishings, and many others. The building blocks, or “feedstocks” have high energy content and are currently obtained from the same source (crude oil) as transportation and heating fuels. Recent concern about the sustainability of petroleum has inspired research into alternative feedstocks, including alternative fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, and potentially renewable feedstocks derived from biomass. To avoid competing with food uses, the ultimate goal of this research is to mobilize the components of lignocellulosic biomass. The US Department of Energy estimates that at least a billion tons could be available annually in the US to meet future demand. The vision for the future involves replacing petroleum refineries with “bio-refineries”, situated in agricultural areas and surrounded by the land on which the feedstocks are grown. However, concerns about the challenges of transporting and storing perishable raw biomass, the enormous water requirements for processing, and land use changes incurred when arable areas are converted to fuel and chemical production, have raised important questions about how sustainable such scenarios truly are. New reactions and separations for continuous (not batch) processing will be required to make these processes much more efficient and versatile, especially in operations much smaller than typical world-scale petrochemical plants.