The use of new catalytic technologies for green synthesis and clean production is of great significance for the sustainable development of the chemical industry. In the industry development seminar organized by the China Chemical Society's Fine Chemicals Committee and organized by the Ningbo Institute of Technology last week, the experts pointed out that in the discussion of fine chemical strengthening of clean production, it was pointed out that the bio-inspired catalytic technology that has received extensive attention in recent years will be in the chemical industry. The process of green production plays an important role.
Finding breakthroughs in energy saving and emission reduction
When it comes to biomimetic catalytic technology, it is naturally inseparable from the hydrocarbon oxidation process that converts hydrocarbons into alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and acids that are closely associated with energy saving and emission reduction. Wu Yuanbin, director of the Institute of Green Chemistry and Fine Chemicals at Beijing University of Technology, pointed out that as one of the core technologies in the petrochemical industry, 25% of chemical reactions and 50% of chemical products are based on hydrocarbon oxidation processes. At present, the development of the chemical industry faces bottlenecks such as deterioration of environmental conditions, frequent security incidents, shortage of resources and energy, and urgently needs to seek breakthroughs in the oxidation of hydrocarbons.
By increasing the efficiency and selectivity of the hydrocarbon oxidation process, energy conservation and emission reduction can be achieved, and environmental protection can be achieved. By replacing the high temperature and high pressure gas-solid catalytic oxidation with liquid phase biomimetic catalytic oxidation under mild conditions, safety accidents can be avoided. Occurs; The utilization of resources and energy can be increased by increasing the conversion efficiency of the oxidation reaction. “The most critical issue is the molecular design and controllable preparation of highly efficient catalysts in the oxidation process, and the biomimetic catalytic system stands out from this,†said Yan Yuanbin.
Just as enzymes in nature promote the metabolism of biomass, biomimetic catalytic oxidation technology is the process of simulating the chemical reactions in living organisms. It has developed catalytic systems similar to those of biological enzymes, realizing hydrocarbon chemicals under mild conditions. Oxidation. As a cross-product of biocatalysis and chemical catalysis, biomimetic catalysis technology fills the disadvantages of traditional processes that require high temperature and high pressure, poor selectivity, low catalytic efficiency, and unfriendly environment, and has been highly regarded by the international academic and business community.
Biomimetic catalysis is high hopes
Yan Yuanbin said that compared with natural biocatalysts, biomimetic catalysts have the advantages of low cost, stable performance, and easy storage, while greatly reducing the cost of catalyst production. As a typical green chemistry technology, the goal of biomimetic catalysis is to improve the conversion rate and selectivity in the air oxidation reaction of hydrocarbons through bio-metabolism processes, thereby improving the benefits of hydrocarbon oxidation processes, replacing existing non-green processes, and Realize the controllability of the process.
Generally, the biomimetic catalytic system is intended to solve three key problems, namely the specificity of biomimetic catalytic oxidation of hydrocarbons, the efficient conversion mechanism of micro-bionic catalysts, and the precise control of biomimetic catalytic oxidation activity and selectivity. Through the exploration of these three major issues, researchers expect to obtain the commonality and individuality laws of biomimetic catalytic oxidation, achieve target products with high yield and selectivity, and effectively solve the current safety hazards and environmental pollution problems associated with the selective oxidation of hydrocarbons. .
“Metallic porphyrin biomimetic catalyst is a typical representative of biomimetic catalysts. It has the important advantages of specific reactions, high catalytic efficiency, and environmental friendliness.†Yan Yuanbin pointed out that the characteristic of metallo-porphyrin biomimetic catalysts is that the amount of catalyst is small, only 3 ~ 300ppm grade, no need for recovery and no secondary pollution; use clean and cheap oxygen instead of heavily polluted compounds as oxidants; use neutral, alkaline medium or solvent-free system to replace severely corrosive acidic media; reaction at near room temperature, Under normal pressure, neutral conditions are performed under mild conditions.
Industrial application is not far
The reporter understands that the main research contents of Geng Yuanbin's research group are the molecular design and synthesis of novel biomimetic catalysts, and their application in the oxidation of hydrocarbons, green synthetic organic chemical raw materials and fine chemical intermediates. So far, they have designed and synthesized more than 120 kinds of metal porphyrin or phthalocyanine biomimetic catalysts; improved four methods in the synthesis of porphyrins, metalloporphyrins, and phthalocyanines, and researched and developed two new types of method.
At present, the research group has been able to provide biomimetic catalytic oxidation of cyclohexane to adipic acid, biomimetic catalytic oxidation of alpha-olefins to synthesize epoxy compounds, and biomimetic catalytic oxidation of o-, m-, and p-nitro groups. Benzoic acid, biomimetic catalytic oxidation of o-, p-nitrobenzoic acid, o-, p-nitrobenzaldehyde, biomimetic catalytic oxidation, o-p-cresol, green synthesis, o-, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, biomimetic oxidation, alkyl-substituted aromatics, green synthesis, substituted aromatic Ketone, biomimetic catalytic oxidation of phenol to produce catechol and many other green chemical production technology.
Some of these achievements have already signed technology transfer agreements with related companies. In addition, the research group will cooperate with a Zhejiang company to build the largest research, development and production base of porphyrin or metalloporphyrin in the world to solve the large-scale synthesis and production problems of such catalysts and meet domestic and foreign catalysts. Large areas of demand for porphyrins or metalloporphyrins.
Yan Yuanbin also stressed that the current metalloporphyrin biomimetic catalytic system is to increase the conversion and selectivity of hydrocarbon oxidation, but also to reduce the cost of industrial production, and further enhance the performance of the process. "The future of biomimetic catalytic technology is bright, but it needs to be continuously improved in order to truly function."