Joint project

Funder: Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

Period: 2020-2023

Detailed description: 
This project is the continuation and extension of the work from the previous project "FOREST - Chemical and electrochemical processes for the conversion of renewable raw materials into redox-active substances". All essential process steps were researched in this previous project. In order for the process to be commercially viable in the future, further fundamental issues need to be researched: In order to improve the yield of low-molecular, aromatic compounds from lignin fragmentation, product filtration is combined with the fragmentation reaction so that target molecules are removed from the process during the reaction and protected from further degradation in the reactor. For this purpose, filtration membranes that can be used under the harsh reaction conditions must first be researched. For the other key reactions to convert lignin into organic electrolytes, the electrosynthetic approach to reaction optimization is being investigated. The introduction of these steps into the process sequence is a technical objective of the project, whereby scientific utilization of the electrochemical findings is also planned. Furthermore, the project work deals with the clarification of structure-activity relationships in order to understand the effects caused by substituents on the redox-active compounds. Predictions on the electrochemical performance of redox-active substances as electrolytes can be derived from this work. In addition, investigations into degradation processes must be carried out to ensure an adequate service life of the batteries, which can be countered in a targeted manner, for example, by using more stable molecules, more suitable operating parameters or regeneration strategies. Last but not least, the utilization of side streams is also being investigated in a separate work package with a view to improving economic efficiency.