The Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) presents a Distinguished Lecture by Professor Robin D. Rogers, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Green Chemistry and Green Chemicals, and Chemistry Professor at McGill University, Canada.
Lecture: 3:00-4:00pm
Reception: 4:00-5:00pm
Invitation is the Gateway to the Biomass Biorefinery and Ultimately A Sustainable Bio-based Economy
Abstract
A resource supply that is both sustainable and adequate is one of the most significant barriers to increased infiltration of biomass conversion technologies and processes. Current biological and chemical approaches being taken to utilize biomass are limited by the difficulty in processing biomass and the energy needed for separation of the components. New and efficient solvents and process technologies are needed to help unlock the promise of biomass. These new technologies could provide new market opportunities for medical, forestry, agricultural, and fishing industries as we move toward a more sustainable biomass-based economy. With a plethora of abundant natural and renewable resources (in terms of both quantity and diversity), from water purification - to cosmetics - to medical applications, the quality of human life can greatly benefit (and improve at the same time) from new, innovative biomass-related technologies. With this mission in mind, we are exploring the entire range of the “biorefinery concept,” from dissolution, and conversion of biomass into value added chemicals and extraction of essential oils or vital chemicals from raw biomass sources,[1] to isolation of pure biopolymers and production of new biomaterials from them.[2]Because we can directly dissolve Nature’s biopolymers, we can shape them, functionalize them, blend them, and use other noncovalent means to produce advanced functional materials. These new, innovative materials represent new market opportunities which will develop and promote.
Left:
Traditional
biopolymer isolation-traditional
pulping
vs.
IL
process.
Right:
Renewable
biomaterials
in
different
forms
and
shapes.
References
[1] Bica, K.; Gaertner, P.; Rogers, R. D. “Ionic Liquids and Fragrances – Direct Isolation of Orange Essential Oil,” Green Chem. 2011, 13, 1997-1999. DOI: 10.1039/c1gc15237h.
[2] a)Choi, S. Y.; Rodríguez, H.; Mirjafari, A.; Gilpin, D. F.; McGrath, S.; Malcolm, K. R.; Tunney, M. M.; Rogers, R. D.; McNally, T. “Dual functional ionic liquids as plasticisers and antimicrobial agents for medical polymers,” Green Chem. 2011, 13, 1527-1535. DOI:10.1039/C1GC15132K; b) Shamshina, J. L.; Gurau, G.; Block, L. E.; Hansen, L, Dingee, C.; Walters, A. “Chitin-Calcium Alginate Composite Fibers for Wound Care Dressings Spun from Ionic Liquid Solution,” J. Mater. Chem. B 2014, 2, 3924-3936. DOI:10.1039/C4TB00329B; c) Sun, N.; Rahman, M.; Qin, Y.; Maxim, M. L.; Rodríguez, H.; Rogers, R. D. “Complete dissolution and partial delignification of wood in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate,” Green Chem. 2009, 11, 646-655; d) Qin, Y.; Lu, X.; Sun, N.; Rogers, R. D. “Dissolution or Extraction of Crustacean Shells Using Ionic Liquids to Obtain High Molecular Weight Purified Chitin and Direct Production of Chitin Films and Fibers,” Green Chem. 2010, 12, 968-971. DOI: 10.1039/c003583a.
Professor Robin D. Rogers
Dr.
Robin
D.
Rogers
is
Canada
Excellence
Research
Chair
in
Green
Chemistry
and
Green
Chemicals
at
McGill
University
in
Montreal,
Canada.
He
obtained
both
his
B.S.
in
Chemistry
(1978,
Summa
Cum
Laude)
and
his
Ph.D.
in
Chemistry
(1982)
at
The
University
of
Alabama
before
starting
his
professorial
career
at
Northern
Illinois
University
in
DeKalb,
IL
where
he
rose
through
the
ranks
to
become
Presidential
Research
Professor.
In
1996,
he
returned
to
UA
as
a
Professor
where
he
held
various
titles
including
Distinguished
Research
Professor,
Robert
Ramsay
Chair
of
Chemistry,
and
Director
of
the
Center
for
Green
Manufacturing.
In
2007
he
was
also
Chair
of
Green
Chemistry
and
Co-Director
of
QUILL
at
The
Queen’s
University
of
Belfast
in
Northern
Ireland
(UK)
before
returning
full
time
to
UA
from
2009-2014.
Since
2009,
he
has
been
an
Honorary
Professor
at
the
Chinese
Academy
of
Sciences
Institute
for
Process
Engineering
in
Beijing,
China.
Rogers holds 21 issued patents and has published over 760 papers on a diverse array of topics. His research interests cover the use of ionic liquids and Green Chemistry for sustainable technology through innovation and include Materials (advanced polymeric and composite materials from biorenewables), Separations (novel strategies for separation and purification of value added products from biomass), Energy (new lubricant technologies and selective separations), and Medicine (elimination of waste while delivering improved pharmaceutical performance).
He has been cited over 31,000 times and has a Hirsch index of 83. Rogers was named in the 2014 Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers List ranking among the top 1% most cited in chemistry. In 2006, Rogers was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and in 2009 was selected to the inaugural class of American Chemical Society Fellows. In 2010, he was named a Chinese Academy of Sciences Visiting Senior Scientist for the Institute for Process Engineering, Beijing, China. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012 and that same year named an ACS Division of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Fellow.
Rogers is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the American Chemical Society journal Crystal Growth & Design. He is also an editorial board member ofSeparation Science & Technology, Solvent Extraction and Ion Exchange, and Chemistry Letters, as well as a member of the international advisory boards for Green Chemistry, Chemical Communications, andChemSusChem.
He has had an influential role in the expansion of interest and research in ionic liquid systems, his initial paper on ionic liquid/aqueous partitioning (Chem. Comm. 1998, 1765) effectively kick-started interest in applying ionic liquids to clean separations. In 2005 he was awarded the US Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (Academic Division) for work related to the use of ionic liquids in sustainable technology. This technology was licensed later that year to BASF. He was awarded the American Chemical Society Separations Science & Technology award in 2011 and in 2012, he was named recipient of the Paul Walden Award given by the DFG-SPP 1191 Priority Program on Ionic Liquids.
Rogers has co-organized a variety of meetings and symposia on Industrial Applications of Ionic Liquids and he has started companies (525 Solutions, Chitinality) to enhance the commercial viability of new technologies. The breadth of educational, research, editorial, and service endeavors gives Rogers a broad perspective on science and engineering research, development, and technology transfer.