Jurjen Spekreijse

Biomass Technology Group | BTG · Consultancy

The desire to utilise biobased feedstocks and develop more sustainable chemistry poses new challenges in catalysis. A synthetically useful catalytic conversion is ethenolysis, a cross metathesis reaction with ethylene. In this review the state of the art of ethenolysis in biobased chemistry was extensively examined using methyl oleate as a model co...

The use of pyrolysis-based wood conservation is a good alternative for the use of fossil-based creosotes. In this life cycle assessment (LCA) the environmental impact of a biorefinery approach of pyrolysis oil from forestry residues or maize digestate and its application as wood modification treatment is determined. The damage to ecosystems, damage...

Life and biological sciences and technologies are enablers for bio-based innovations that bear the potential to use natural resources sustainably, by reducing dependence on fossil fuels, by protecting the environment and climate, ensuring food security, and maintaining international competitiveness. This study presents the 50 most significant bio-b...

This report aims to contribute to a better understanding of bio-based chemicals, plastics and pharmaceuticals in comparison to their competing fossil-based technologies, selecting representative value chains for each of the categories. This information is also needed to feed forward-looking modelling tools with aggregated data, which serves as a st...

The chemical sector is the fourth largest industry in the European Union (EU) and the second largest chemical producer globally. However, its global share in chemicals sales has declined from 25% two decades ago to around 14% now. The sector, which accounts for 22% of the EU industry's energy demands, faces significant challenges in mitigating clim...

Bioenergy retrofitting may be a short-term strategy to promote the transition from first-generation to advanced bioethanol, as it could improve the cost-competitiveness of the latter. In addition, this strategy could also extend the operational lifetime of first-generation ethanol plants, whose production is restricted by the current European renew...

Under the auspices of the EU's new Circular Economy Action Plan and Bioeconomy Strategy, the usage of sustainably renewable biomass for bio-based chemicals is a part-solution for addressing the multidimensional challenges of (inter alia) growth and employment, food and energy security, climate change and biodiversity. Unfortunately, the lack of a f...

The report on “Framework conditions of retrofitting Europe’s industry with bioenergy” provides an overview on the markets, policies, barriers and drivers for retrofitting sectors in Europe and in the target countries (Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden) of the BIOFIT project. It will be a basis...

Vanillic acid, C8H8O4, is a possible product from a future biorefinery with lignin as raw material. Two coordination compounds with this ligand in two different protonation states were prepared: 1 [Zn(C8H7O4)2(H2O)2] and 2 [Co2(C8H6O4)2(H2O)6] ⋅ 2H2O. Both compounds form extended 3D structures with strong hydrogen bonds. A high symmetry 8‐ and 4‐co...

This report provides an analysis of nine potentially attractive business opportunities ("sweet spots") for the European bio-biobased industry. The "sweet spots" have been chosen by analysing the current landscape of bio-based chemicals and those that have reached an advanced development stage, and hence may represent a potential business opportunit...

A simple, one-step mechanochemical procedure for immobilisation of homogeneous metathesis catalysts in metal-organic frameworks was developed. Grinding MIL-101-NH2 (Al) with a Hoveyda-Grubbs second-generation catalyst resulted in a heterogeneous catalyst that is active for metathesis and one of the most stable immobilised metathesis catalysts. Duri...

Isolated polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) can be used to produce biobased bulk chemicals. However, isolation is complex and costly. To circumvent this, whole cells containing PHA may be used. Here, PHA containing 3-hydroxybutyrate and small amounts of 3-hydroxyvalerate was produced from wastewater and used in the conversion of the 3-hydroxybutyrate mono...

Currently, most chemicals and materials are obtained from fossil resources. After use, these chemicals and materials are converted to CO2. As discussed in chapter 1 , this causes a build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere, the main driving force of global warming. In order to reach a sustainable system, biomass could be used as a resource for chemicals an...

Within the concept of the replacement of fossil with biobased resources, bacterial polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) can be obtained from volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from agro-food waste streams and used as an intermediate toward attractive chemicals. Here we address a crucial step in this process, the conversion of PHB to methyl crotonate (MC), which can...

Phenylalanine (1), which could be potentially obtained from biofuel waste streams, is a precursor of cinnamic acid (2) that can be converted into two bulk chemicals, styrene (3) and acrylic acid (4), via an atom efficient pathway. With 5 mol% of Hoveyda–Grubbs 2nd generation catalyst, 1 bar of ethylene, and using dichloromethane as solvent, cinnami...