biorefinery

Research into renewable chemicals, fuels and materials sourced from the oceans at Memorial University and elsewhere is employing green chemical technologies for the transformation of algae and food industry waste streams into useful products. A very small proportion of biomass utilization research is currently focused on these feedstocks and efforts focused in this area could reduce land space competition between food and chemical/fuel production.

The transition toward a circular bioeconomy demands innovative, sustainable, and efficient technologies for biomass valorization and pulping. Green chemistry strategies, particularly organosolvent pulping pretreatment, are emerging as pivotal solutions to unlock the full potential of lignocellulosic feedstocks. Organosolvent processes employ environmentally benign solvents to selectively fractionate biomass components, enabling the recovery of high-purity cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin with minimal environmental footprint.