Biomass Conversion

Due to the expected depletion of fossil fuels, alternatives are required for the supply of our societies with fuels and alternative feedstocks for chemical production. Different types of biomass are suitable for this, but lignocellulose is the preferred option, since there is no competition with food and feed. Work in the group is focussed on the depolymerization of cellulose and further conversion of the resulting sugars. Porous functionalized polymers are in the focus of the catalyst development, since due to their versatility they can in principle ideally be tuned to the requirements of the aqueous phase processing of biomass.