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Feedstocks for the Future - Renewables in Green Chemistry

The August 2008 special edition of the journal Clean - Soil, Air, Water is titled "Feedstocks for the Future - Renewables in Green Chemistry." This special edition was edited by Dr. Joe Bozell, Associate Professor in the Forest Products Center at UT. The issue highlights some of the new approaches useful for the conversion of renewable building blocks into a variety of chemical products. The articles in the journal come from two symposia held by the American Chemical Society in 2007. The full edition of the journal can be found at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121370648/issue.

An article by Dr. Joe Bozell also appeared in this edition of the journal. His article is entitled "Feedstocks for the Future - Biorefinery Production of Chemicals from Renewable Carbon" and can be found at the following link: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121370652/abstract

Abstract of Dr. Bozell's article:

Converting renewable carbon to chemicals and fuels is experiencing a huge increase in both research and commercial interest. The biorefinery is now a recognized approach for transforming renewable raw materials into separate biobased process streams, and ultimately, marketplace chemicals and fuels. Successful biorefinery operation will fulfill two strategic goals: displacing nonrenewable raw materials (an energy goal, met by production of biofuels) and providing economic incentive to support a robust biorefining industry (an economic goal, met by the production of high value chemicals). These goals are met simultaneously by integrating chemical and fuel production within a single operation. However, a primary barrier to biorefinery development is the relative lack of technology available for the conversion of renewable carbon sources into useful marketplace chemicals and materials. Developing broad based technologies capable of producing families of high value chemicals will provide a significant opportunity for the biorefinery. This introductory paper briefly overviews the biorefinery concept and describes several features of biorefinery operation and technology needs for the production of chemicals from renewable raw materials.

This work was supported by the Southeast Regional Sun Grant Center, funded by the U. S. Department of Transportation, and the University of Tennessee.