Sustainable Chemical Technologies
We work across traditional disciplinary boundaries between science and engineering to develop novel sustainable technologies with chemistry at its core. We design molecules, materials and manufacturing processes to enable a circular economy and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Underpinned by state-of-the-art facilities, we:
- use renewable resources and biotechnology to make chemicals, fuels and materials from biomass rather than petrochemicals
- investigate clean energy conversion and storage to enable resource-efficient, low-carbon industries
- develop (bio)chemical processes to make the manufacturing of chemicals more energy-efficient and less wasteful
- valorise waste from industrial, agricultural and municipal sources and study their impact on the environment
- design high-performance materials with embedded recyclability or degradability for their end of life
Innovation in these areas is key to breaking from the current linear model in which goods are manufactured using fossil feedstocks, sold, used, and then discarded. New sustainable chemical technologies are necessary to move to a more circular model and achieve a net-zero carbon society.
Keywords:
- resource efficiency
- renewable feedstocks
- catalysis, biotechnology
- bio-derived materials
- recyclability
- degradability
- clean energy
- net zero