“Bio” is coming – as technology for a new area of chemistry

While writing this Editorial, I attended the IMTB 2, Implementation of Microreactor Technology in Biotechnolology, conference held from 5 to 8 May 2013 in Cavtat, Croatia. The conference report has previously been published in Green Processing and Synthesis. “Bio” as meant here, thus, refers to biotechnological processing of chemicals, using the high performances achievable in regio- and stereoselectivity as one of the main motivations.

There is currently a lot of attention given to biomass conversion in the framework of all national and European funding programs. In the Netherlands, programmatic funding on large scale and with clustered projects has been set as equal to the normal topical funding of individual projects. Naturally energy and the biomass conversion are among the topics considered. In addition, many initiative groups have been started virtually everywhere. For example, Germany is particularly strong in this field with the German association, Dechema, supporting new developments. There is however, not much choice but to change one’s research to biomass-related synthetic pathways. Fossil resources are running out – fortunately a bit later than predicted. I remember textbooks in my school education from the 1970s which predicted that there would be no oil left by now. However, we do have oil and it will be for the next 20 to 30 years, at least. Russia has natural gas reserves lasting for maybe the next 150 years. Unfortunately, experts make mistakes in their predictions; there is a tendency to exaggerate. But this does not weaken the fact that chemistry will change significantly in the next decade.

While oil consists mostly of hydrocarbons, the biomass after initial conversion yields a mixture of lignin and sugars such as cellulose, fructose, glucose and more (besides giving syngas and bio oils). This marks a change from oxidative-determined to reductive-chemical pathways. It is not entirely clear now what will really be the most industrial streamlined and supply chains of the future. Interest groups with industry to the fore define platform chemicals such as glucose, levulinic acid, and more. There is common agreement on some or even most of them, while different emphasis is given on other proposed platform chemicals. The market has not yet been established, this change has just started – an all things are subject to change. To provide an answer and planning certainty, we see an increasing number of pilot facilities for biomass conversion being built and as such are of national and future interest.

Most of these pilot facilities are concerned with the very first steps of the biomass conversion such as gasification. From this, syngas can be obtained, and that can be converted to synthetic fuels. Visions on the energy-chain are thus becoming clearer. Naturally, in view of using the “green” biomass, sustainability evaluation has attained prime importance and has become a matter of intense and sometimes controversial discussion. The chemistry chain in the biomass conversion is less clearly developed than the energy use. In view of the millions of known reactions, it stands to reason that some time is needed to sort the best reaction pathways among this myriad of synthetic alternatives.

At the same time as facing such synthetic complexity, new and sometimes radically new concepts in chemical processing have entered into this change of direction for chemistry and process chemistry as a whole. These are process intensification with micro process technology as a prominent branch, with new (in-line) process analytical technologies, and many more techniques. This creates a vital reservoir to face the significant demands of the new chemistry economy to come.

Here we are back to “bio” – biotechnology, meaning cell- and enzyme-based processes in this context, will have a prime role in the chemical change. Chemical engineering may in future comprise and need more biochemical engineering. Starting, for example, from the fructose pathway, enzymes may play a role or maybe, with increased chemical complexity, be involved one step later from the hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) platform.

The researchers at the IMTB Conference believe a mix of technologies to be the best solution for chemistry’s future. They especially believe in combining micro- and flow-reactors with enzyme-based chemistry, most often using immobilized enzymes.

Green Processing and Synthesis is probably one of the few journals open to mixing technologies and scientific fields. This journal aims to give the whole picture and not just the advances in a specific direction. With having different, complementary, synergistic research directions next to each other (e.g., in one issue), the aim is finally to attract true interdisciplinary research in the future; with biotechnology as one of the most promising trends.