SBIR Phase II: A New Bio-based Monomer for the Coatings Industry

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to provide domestic production of renewable, biomass-based alternatives to products currently made from oil. This SBIR Phase II project will demonstrate the commercial potential of producing 1,5-pentanediol (1,5-PDO), a key chemical used to manufacture coatings, adhesives, and plastics, from agricultural wastes like corn cobs. Biomass-based chemicals can decrease the nation's dependence on oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while providing cost-competitive high-performance chemical products. Creating high-value commodity chemicals using nonfood agricultural materials as feedstock promises to create new markets for bio-based waste products. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will generate the necessary experimental data to design commercial reactors for producing renewable bio-based 1,5-pentanediol. A chemical pathway to produce bio-based 1,5-pentanediol has been demonstrated in laboratory reactors using commercially relevant reactors and catalysts. In this work a wide range of reactor operating conditions will be explored in the laboratory for scale-up of the process. These operating conditions will be further demonstrated in larger pilot-scale equipment to inform design at commercial scale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.