Green Engineering

Chemical Looping Ammonia Synthesis has been developed as a promising ammonia production route, offering minimal reliance on fossil fuels, enhanced process conditions, flexibility and potential for renewable energy integration. Chemical Looping Ammonia Synthesis (CLAS) typically operates by decomposing the overall ammonia synthesis reaction into two or more sub-reactions which is carried out using a mediating Nitrogen carrier.

The development of new lignin-based materials has become a very attractive alternative for researchers due to the particular properties that these can offer and their potential applications. Lignin is biosourced, abundant, biodegradable and renewable, for those reasons, it is an appealing feedstock from which to make materials for diverse applications in diverse fields. Lignin-based nanoparticles may offer properties and morphologies that differ from those of more conventional materials.

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) serves as a bio-inspired platform for developing multifunctional metamaterials, with potential applications in energy storage, aerospace, and biomedical technologies. This research integrates three key studies aimed at enhancing BNC’s performance and versatility. First, UV Radiation-Enhanced Production Yield increases scalability through sustainable biosynthesis, optimizing BNC production for larger-scale applications.

Glycerol hydrogenolysis allows to obtain lots of value added compounds, that, when the reactive comes from renewable sources such as a by-product of the biodiesel industry, it becomes the product renewable too. Each one of the possible product are aligned with the green engineering concept as they are sustainable and contribute to the green supply chain. Glycols, specically propyleneglycol, is an already known and proven molecule, which can be easily introduced into the market without any constrain.  

Alginates extracted from brown seaweed can be used to make bioproducts for a range of applications from single-use packaging to tissue engineering. To scale alginate production for widespread use, a focus on advancing sustainable extraction methods is needed. This study aimed to investigate greener extraction methods and the effect on alginate properties, to advance sustainable methods suitable for bioplastic applications. Three alginate extraction protocols were selected by evaluating the hazard levels of different alginate extraction methods, solvents and reagents.

Among the most active areas of chemistry research today is that of carbon dioxide utilization: an area of research that was viewed as futile and commercially impractical not so long ago due to the energetic stability of the CO2 molecule. The breakthroughs that largely began in earnest in the 1990s have accelerated and now make up a diverse and plentiful portfolio of technological and scientific advances and commercialized technologies.

Refrigerants, essential to heating and cooling systems, are estimated to be used in large quantities daily (approximately 850 million kilograms). While advancements on past generations of refrigerants have reduced toxicity and flammability, current hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants are being phased out due to their high global warming potential (GWP). Recycling and repurposing HFCs is challenging, as many are azeotropic mixtures that cannot be separated using conventional distillation.