ECOCHEM Project

Catalysts and efficient processes

The chemical industry is at the heart of our societies, since it is used to produce a large number of goods necessary for our development. Yet society’s impact on the planet (water availability, erosion of biodiversity, climate change) and the exponential increase in the human population have reshuffled the deck, with chemistry now having to solve a complex equation: how can we produce more and better with less ?

In this context, catalysis plays an essential role, not only to better control the selectivity of the desired products (zero waste objective) but also to reduce the energy barriers of the reactions, and thus the overall CO2 emissions within the chemical process.

The main objective of this project is to identify cutting-edge technologies for carrying out catalytic reactions and processes in a more eco-efficient manner (atom savings, energy savings, selectivity). In this context, the project will face two scientific challenges :

The design of catalytic systems (homogeneous and heterogeneous) based on sustainable and disruptive technologies, and their intelligent implementation in catalysis processes. The main challenges concern the recyclability of catalysis, the continuous-flow operation of reactors and the hybridisation of reaction cascades.
The development of catalytic reactions at low temperatures. The coupling of catalysis with auxiliary promotion tools (ultrasonic waves, electric and magnetic fields, light), which has recently emerged as assisted catalysis, will be explored. The main challenge will be to confine these physical effects to a catalyst surface so that a synergistic effect can occur. To optimise the energy consumption of these technologies, intensification will be sought (from discontinuous to continuous, microfluidics, etc.).

The project will therefore address the following scientific questions :

How can we optimise catalytic performance (yield, selectivity, space-time efficiency) while gaining in profit and environmental impact ?
How can highly active species (radicals, ions, electrons, extinct species) be confined to a catalytic surface, so that a synergy effect can occur (i.e. control of reaction selectivity, low temperature) ?
How can the energy consumption of catalytic reactions and processes be reduced ?

Estimated budget : €5.93M

Catalysis design and intensification (innovative catalysis, assisted catalysis, mechanisms and proofs of concept)

Industrial impact: in Europe, many chemical companies are involved in the manufacture of refined chemicals, with AKZO NOBEL, BASF, BAYER, SOLVAY, ARKEMA, ADISSEO, ELKEM, SEQENS, INEOS and CLARIANT among the main industrial players. Research into cutting-edge technologies for converting chemical substances using more eco-efficient methods has been defined as one of the main priorities of the industrial roadmaps. The expected impacts include lower industrial production costs through increased reaction yields, reduced raw material and energy consumption, and reduced environmental impact on industrial sites.

National level: the project is linked to different actions in a complementary way to different national actions. For example, IC2MP, LGC and ISCR are working together within a research federation, INCREASE, hosted by the CNRS, a public-private network working on sustainable chemistry. This provides a direct link with various chemical companies, particularly in the field of fine chemistry (SOLVAY, PENNAKEM, ARD, l’OREAL, GREENTECH, FCBA). These companies should be considered as potential candidates for developing and exploiting the results generated by this project. AXELERA, a French cluster bringing together 400 industrial and academic players in the fields of chemistry and the environment, should be involved in exploiting the results of this project, by encouraging their dissemination to chemical companies. The project will also benefit from the national platforms REALCAT, AXELONE and MEPI.

Project connected to the international scene via the International Symposium on Green Chemistry (ISGC). Cooperation with other countries, in particular Leuven (Belgium, catalytic design), Aachen (Germany, homogeneous catalysis) and Valencia (Spain, refined chemistry) will be strengthened.

Expected results: five patents, 5 to 7 proposals for new products and solvents, 5 to 7 proposals for technological building blocks or proofs of concept, software and control tools, etc.