Associate Professor Tomohiro Hayashi of Tokyo Institute of Technology and others have conducted international joint research with a group of Associate Professor Jiain Chang of Taiwan National University of Science and Technology. Succeeded in developing a technology to selectively generate acetone (DHA) and hydrogen.It was achieved by an electrochemical reaction using an inexpensive copper oxide catalyst.It is said to have been realized by combining the Raman spectroscopy technology of Tokyo Institute of Technology and the catalytic reaction technology of Taiwan University of Science and Technology.
Biodiesel fuel is attracting attention as a carbon-neutral alternative fuel to light oil, but glycerol (glycerin), which is about 10% of the raw material, is produced during production.Glycerol has no effective application, and the challenge was how to convert it to a substance with high added value.In addition, precious metals such as gold and platinum are used as catalysts in this material conversion research, and abundant and inexpensive catalysts have been sought.
In this research, DHA and hydrogen used in cosmetics, sweeteners, etc. are selectively produced from glycerin, which is a waste in biodiesel production, using inexpensive copper oxide, which is abundant on the earth, as a catalyst. Established the technology to do.In particular, the chemical reaction on the surface of the copper oxide catalyst is observed in-situ (real-time evaluation) by Raman spectroscopy (material evaluation by molecular vibration detection using light) to elucidate the reaction mechanism and to maximize the reaction selectivity. Achieved optimization of conditions.
Currently, research is underway for practical use from the perspective of developing new catalysts and improving reaction efficiency.Due to the progress of data accumulation such as differences in reaction pathways due to differences in catalyst type and solution conditions (especially pH value), it will be optimally integrated with information science methods such as machine learning in the future with a minimum of experiments. The company plans to develop technology for deriving material conversion conditions.
Paper information:[Applied Catalysis B: Environmental] Selective Electro-oxidation of Glycerol to Dihydroxyacetone by a Non-precious Electrocatalyst – CuO
