Chemical Engineering Blue Green Seminar

Thursday, October 19, 2017 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
“Bioprivileged Molecules: A Strategy for Next Generation Chemical Products”

Location

Gerald Ford Library

Details

Poster Session: 4:00-4:45 p.m.
Lecture: 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Dinner 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Much of the effort in converting biomass to biobased chemicals has been driven by the
retrosynthesis of target molecules. An alternative approach is the synthesis of “bioprivileged molecules”
that are biology-derived chemical species that can be readily converted to a diversity of chemical
products including drop-in replacements and novel species, which can be used for next generation
materials, specialty chemicals, nutraceuticals, antimicrobials, insecticides, herbicides, consumer goods,
etc. The dual potentiality of a bioprivileged molecule is vital in creating value from biomass since
innovative bioproducts represents a powerful driver for the development of biobased chemicals beyond
just replacing fossil carbon with renewable carbon. The important role of these molecules has been
demonstrated as key intermediates in the integration of biology and chemistry by our NSF Engineering
Research Center for Biorenewable Chemicals (CBiRC). Several examples of bioprivileged molecules
being developed by CBiRC will be discussed.

Speakers

Professor Brent H. Shanks, Iowa State