Research

Cluster

SmartProSys

Worldwide, 119 million tons of used vegetable oil are generated annually, mostly from commercial kitchens. Although some is converted to biodiesel, researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) have now developed a catalyst to convert this waste into primary amines, essential compounds in pharmaceuticals and daily-use products. Doctoral student Fairoosa Poovan, under Prof. Matthias Beller, uses a cobalt-based catalyst to create these valuable chemicals with greater efficiency than conventional methods.

The catalyst enables a one-step process that minimizes resources and works at lower temperatures, making it a more sustainable alternative to traditional synthesis routes. This approach not only retains the carbon in a usable form but also supports circular carbon economy goals, as the team collaborates with the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg to find additional applications for bio-based wastes.

Plastics, although with many advantages, also cause problems like environmental pollution and ongoing extraction of fossil resources. Great reductions in environmental impact can be made by recycling polyamides (PAs) used in fishing nets, automobile parts, textiles, carpets, foils etc. since they are especially resource intensive in their production compared to other polymers.
In a joint cooperation of Process Systems Engineering at Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems and Soft Matter Physics at Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg we are investigating a solvent-based recycling method for PAs. We could observe cavitation bubbles caused by ultrasonic treatment to significantly enhance the dissolution rate of the polymer. Additionally, we are investigating process parameters relevant for industrial scale up making recycling even more sustainable without compromising on the quality of recovered PA.