Research Terms
The University of Central Florida invention describes methods of patterning well-defined nanoscale and microscale carbon structures with light using a defect-engineered photocatalyst. This invention avoids several shortcomings of current methods of carbon structure growth, such as external heating and residual contamination in the final products.
Partnering Opportunity
The research team is seeking partners for licensing and/or research collaboration.
Stage of Development
Prototype available.
The University of Central Florida invention consists of processes and methods for economically, safely, and reliably producing oxidized reaction products from lignin. This includes products such as vanillin (a flavoring typically in sweet foods), syringaldehyde (an antimicrobial), syringic acid (an immunomodulator with antimicrobial, anti-cancer and anti-DNA oxidation properties), and vanillic acid, which also acts as an immunomodulatory.
Known as a waste product of the pulping industry and a major by-product of biomass-to-ethanol conversion, lignin offers a continuous, renewable resource. The UCF approach enables rapid lignin depolymerization from biomass with little or no preparation. In comparison, other processes for depolymerizing lignin are either slow (fungal) or generate large amounts of unwanted chemicals.
Technical Details
The UCF invention is a method for depolymerizing lignin to produce chemicals such as vanillin, syringaldehyde, syringic acid and vanillic acid. It involves a non-aqueous/non-solvent-based and solvent-free process via a solid-solid mechanocatalytic oxidative reaction. In one example, the process includes a step of mechanocatalytically reacting an oxidation catalyst with lignin or a lignin-containing material. It also includes an oxidation catalyst with a solid metal oxide such as manganese oxide, cerium oxide, copper oxide, silver oxide, and combinations of these.
A significant advantage of the invention is that it can be performed at ambient temperature without the need for added heat, cooling, or modifying pressure. Moreover, the agitating step allows more of the lignin-containing material to come into contact with catalytic sites on the oxidation catalyst. In one embodiment, the agitating step may occur at a controlled temperature of between -5 to about 146 degrees Celsius.
Partnering Opportunity
UCF seeks experienced technology partners to license and scale-up commercially relevant processes (lab scale 500g). Feedstocks with lignin source processed to date include hardwoods, softwoods and agricultural residue. UCF researchers are available to engage in sponsored research to test new feedstock material or improve selected processes at lab scale.
Stage of Development
Prototype available.
Mechanocatalysis for biomass-derived chemicals and fuels, Green Chemistry, 12 (2010) 468-474
Researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed technologies that provide a more efficient and inexpensive method of making fermentable sugars for mass-producing ethanol and other uses, such as food additives and flavorings. The inventors have found that combining and agitating a solid acid material with cellulose-containing material results in a high yield of soluble sugars. Thus, companies such as biorefineries can break down a wide range of biomass materials, including switchgrass, wood, paper, agricultural residues, industrial solid wastes and herbaceous crops.
In contrast to other hydrolysis processes, the UCF approach does not require high temperatures, high pressures, strong acid solutions, or added water to convert cellulosic materials into commercially relevant compounds. The approach also produces less waste, is insensitive to feedstock, and provides scalable product pathways. It can be integrated into existing biorefineries, converting them into multi-feedstock and multi-product facilities.
Technical Details
The UCF technologies comprise methods, a composition, and solid reaction products. One method uses a mill to grind and agitate the cellulose-containing material with a solid acid (such as clay, aluminosilicate or silicates) into soluble sugars. The process provides the kinetic energy needed to drive the hydrolysis reaction, and the solid acid material’s surface acidity helps break down the glycosidic bonds of the cellulose material. When the solid acid material has sufficient existing water content, no additional water is needed.
Since the process is not specific to lignin and hemicellulose content, it can be applied using any cellulosic biomass source. Thus, it is a viable alternative to using edible biomass (such as corn) for ethanol production or less efficient existing processes for specialty chemical production. Inexpensive materials, such as kaolinite clay, can be used. Kaolinite is reusable, safe for the environment, and does not require toxic solvents. Other examples include halloysite, attapulgite, montmorillonite, nacrite, dickite, and anauxite.
The methods create solid reaction products comprising at least three compounds from the following: cellobiose, xylose, glucose, fructose, levoglucosan, levoglucosenone, furfural, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, a valuable component used by the food industry for additives and flavorings.
Partnering Opportunity
The research team is seeking partners for licensing, research collaboration, or both.
Stage of Development
Prototype available.
Hydrogenation is a versatile chemical process most commonly used in the food industry to convert vegetable oils into solid or semi-solid fats found in products such as margarine. These food products have had health concerns due to the use of nickel catalysts in processing. Heterogeneous FLP catalysts have shown promising usefulness in the catalytic heterogeneous hydrogenation process because of their relative stability and slower degradation in comparison to homogenous catalysts. These properties make these type of catalysts a more attractive option since products can be quickly separated from the catalyst, improving product quality and reducing production costs. This catalyst is also attractive for the goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, since the alternatives sequestration, electrochemical reduction, and homogenous reduction—depending on available space, intensive energy usage, and the use of more sensitive catalysts, respectively.
Technical Details
Specifically, this catalyst contains a structurally frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) that can hydrogenate a carbonyl bond, producing formic acid, which can be used as a fuel or in fuel cells and other hydrocarbons. It can also hydrogenate other compounds that can lead to biofuels, hydrogenated oils and fats, plastics, and even pharmaceutical precursors. By utilizing hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), this improvement on a popular reduction method eliminates the expensive requirement of precious metals. Additionally, the use of this metal-free FLP catalyst will eliminate metal impurities in hydrogenated products that can cause undesirable effects such as increased toxicity in humans and animals.
Partnering Opportunity
The technology has been laboratory tested, and we are looking for a partner to scale up the technology and commercialize it. The process can be incorporated into current production methods or into a new product line.
Stage of Development
Lab scale testing
Researchers at the University of Central Florida have created hexagonal osmium diboride (OsB2), a new, ultra-hard ceramic compound that, until now, had only existed in the form of a mathematical calculation. With its superior mechanical and functional properties, hexagonal OsB2 is ideal for use as a protective coating on cutting tools, pistons, turbine blades and other machinery parts. In creating the new composition, researchers also developed a novel, inexpensive and scalable method of producing it via mechanochemical synthesis.
Technical Details
The invention encompasses a composition for hexagonal OsB2 and a method of producing the new material by mechanochemically reacting osmium and boron powders using a high-energy ball mill. The compound's hexagonal lattice structure can have a hardness value of 52±4 gigapascals (GPa) and a Young's modulus (stiffness) range of 561±38 GPa to 585±42 GPa. Ultra-incompressible, the compound undergoes negative thermal expansion at temperatures from 300 to 500 C in the direction of the lattice parameter, and it is stable at temperatures from about -223 C to 875 C upon cooling and heating. The mechanochemical synthesis is extremely energy efficient, with the mill consuming only 100 watts of power to produce 10 grams of material.
Novel High Pressure Hexagonal OsB2 by Mechanochemistry, Journal of Solid State Chemistry, Volume 215, July 2014, Pages 16-21
Researchers at the University of Central Florida have created new boride materials via mechanochemical synthesis. These materials have ultra-high hardness, high oxidation resistance, and/or catalytic activity so that they can be used for cutting tools, polishing materials, wear-resistant coatings, and thermo-oxidation protection layers for ultra-high speed vehicles (e.g., spacecraft), and catalysts for combustion and fuel cells. The mechanochemical process is a scalable, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly process.
Stage of DevelopmentLab scale testing
The University of Central Florida invention is a process for making carbon structures using defect-engineered, 2D-material heterogeneous catalysts. The defect-laden photocatalyst can be used for propene dehydrogenation under visible illumination, and defect engineering in 2D materials provides new opportunities for metal-free heterogeneous catalysis. Hydrogenation of propene and the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) can be achieved on metal-free hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) using mechanochemistry. The process highlights a new functionality of defect engineering in h-BN for visible light-assisted capture and conversion. This discovery can enable the low-temperature production of hydrogen from hydrocarbon sources and other applications such as sensing or quantum devices.
Partnering Opportunity
The research team is looking for partners to develop the technology further for commercialization.
Stage of Development
Prototype available.
Researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed two technologies for catalytically cracking ammonia into hydrogen as a fuel source. The technologies enable ammonia to be both a carrier of hydrogen as fuel and to provide cooling for compressor intercooling. Their use also helps to eliminate nitrogen oxides (NOx), air-polluting chemical compounds that form smog, ozone and acid rain. Compared to hydrogen storage, ammonia has advantages for volumetric energy density, safety, and the supply chain. Example applications include aircraft, land or water vehicles and power generation.
Technical Details:
The University of Central Florida invention describes a method to produce green and blue hydrogen from hydrocarbons without releasing carbon gas. By using visible light (a laser, lamp, or solar source) and defect-engineered boron-rich photocatalysts, the invention highlights a new functionality of 2D materials for visible light-assisted capture and the conversion of hydrocarbons. The UCF invention produces hydrogen that is free from contaminants such as higher polyaromatic compounds, carbon dioxide, or carbon monoxide which are common in reactions performed at higher temperatures on conventional catalysts.
The heterogeneous catalyst can comprise hexagonal boron nitride and at least one catalytically active defect on the surface. Example hydrocarbon sources include methane, ethane, propene, allene, propyne, cyclohexene, and other hydrocarbons. In the lattice, the B atoms can be tuned to favor the dehydrogenation of specific hydrocarbons on reaction sites under visible light. In the process, the catalyst captures carbon atoms that form structures of potential higher value for future applications.
Partnering Opportunity
The research team is seeking partners for licensing and/or research collaboration.
Stage of Development
Prototype available.