Catalytic Conversions for Biobased Chemicals and Products

Module 1: Introduction to Biobased Conversions
This introduction module starts by refreshing your knowledge of the three pillars of this course: chemical conversions, microbial conversions and reactor design. You'll then be introduced to homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, learn about anaerobic and aerobic microorganisms and start applying mass balances on different types of reactors.

Module 2: Development and Performance of Catalysts
Here the focus is on the catalyst. You learn how heterogeneous catalysts are synthesised and how a suitable microorganism or mixed culture is selected. It's also important to verify if your conversion has been efficient. You'll therefore learn several methods of how to quantify the performance of your catalyst.

Module 3: Reaction Kinetics in Reactor Design
A perfect catalyst can still give disappointing results if it's not run under ideal conditions. In this module, deactivation processes are central and you will study how to account for them in reaction kinetics. We'll also counter thermal deactivation either by cooling with cold water or by evaporation.

Module 4: Improving Biobased Conversion Processes
In this module, we'll touch upon improving a biobased conversion process. You'll see what tools are useful for the characterisation of your catalyst and we'll touch upon strain engineering. You'll also learn how to determine the limiting factor that impacts your conversion rate. Finally, we will take a closer look at improving conversion rates in heterogeneous catalysts.

Module 5: Exam
It's time to test what you have learned on biobased conversion processes!