Our reliance on depleting fossil fuel reserves for energy, carbon feedstock, and chemicals poses significant threats to both our energy security and the environment. In response, there is a growing interest in seeking alternative, eco-friendly, and sustainable resources. Thus, international agreements and sustainable development goals set by the European Union and United Nations underscore the urgent need for a transition to a fossil fuel-independent and diversified carbon and energy economy.
The MERGE project is dedicated to the valorisation of renewable carbon feedstocks –that do not compete with food and land resources–such as waste lignocellulose biomass derivatives. This valorisation is achieved through electro- or photo-catalytic reforming processes, resulting in the production of industrially essential chemicals and fuels. To address this challenge, MERGE project is focused on the development of environmentally friendly, recyclable, low-cost, and efficient cooperative and tailored single-atom catalysts. This endeavour leverages knowledge transfer between the research unit in Czechia and the top-class partners of the consortium.
The ultimate goal of MERGE project is to cultivate a culture of excellence in research, strategy, management, and technology transfer to the widening-country partner. At the same time, MERGE will position the widening-country partner and all Twinning Partners as prominent contributors in the European landscape in the field of advanced and sustainable catalysts for green and technologically important chemicals, via a committed and deep alliance towards excellence, permeating all facets of research.
The activities within the MERGE project will span from the preparation, advanced characterization and catalytic performance study of novel SACs for biomass conversion.
One of the key-enabling strategies to tackle the challenge of depleting fossil fuel reserves is the valorisation of renewable carbon sources, via low energy processes using sustainable and high-performance catalysts. Such catalysts are based on single metal ions immobilised on solid supports, termed as single atom catalysts (SACs). MERGE’s strategy to advance the scientific, technical and management expertise of the senior and young personnel is pillared on the collaborative development of innovative earth-abundant SACs. Compared to nanoparticles, SACs promise full atom economy and maximum exposure of active sites, improved redox cycles and charge communication with the support, leading to superior SAC-substrate interactions, selectivity and activity.
The waste biomass is first converted into small-molecule oxygenates, from which chemical building blocks (aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, and phenols) are produced through pyrolysis, hydrolysis, or liquefaction. Using SACs, above building blocks can be catalytically converted to bio-oils, fuels and chemicals. Further derivatisation of the bio-platform molecules and increasing the hydrogen and decreasing the oxygen content is an ideal strategy to access vital chemicals and improve their energy density, respectively.
3+ publications on commodity chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)
3+ publications on high energy content green chemicals
12+ international conferences attended to present findings
1+ patents submitted by VSB researchers involved in MERGE
15+ training workshops/ seminars on research and transferable skills
Funded by the European Union under GA no. 101159582.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or REA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
