Acetone and methanol are two important starting materials used in the production of chemicals - including solvents. In many cases, they are still made from fossil raw materials such as crude oil. In the DESMOL2PRO project, an international research team involving the University of Magdeburg is now researching new approaches to the production of sustainable chemicals.

Making biochemical processes recyclable

The aim of the DESMOL2PRO project is to develop biodegradable solvents that can be used specifically in the chemical industry - for the production of bioplastics and medicines, for example, but also to make biochemical processes cleaner, more efficient and more recyclable. The team relies not only on renewable raw materials as starting materials, but also on enzymes to specifically control the biocatalytic processes. However, these enzymes are very sensitive.

‘Enzymes work poorly or not at all in many conventional solvents,’ explains Jan von Langermann, co-spokesperson of the project and chemist at the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Magdeburg. The effectiveness of these protein molecules therefore depends significantly on the right solvent.

Controlling enzymatic processes with DES

The project will therefore utilise so-called deep eutectic solvents (DES) to improve enzymatic processes. DES are mixtures of substances that usually consist of at least one solid substance and become liquid at room temperature. They can also be produced primarily from natural raw materials and organic compounds.

‘DES can often preserve the structure and stability of enzymes, even specifically influence the activity of the catalysts and at the same time enable further processing tailored to specific applications,’ explains von Langermann. ‘We want to understand how DES influence enzymes, which system suits which enzyme and how we can utilise these findings for industrial processes.’ The researchers are convinced that their approach could help to reduce dependence on crude oil and establish green value chains.

DFG funds project with 3.2 million euros

The project entitled ‘Customised Deep Eutectic Solvents for Biocatalysis - DESMOL2PRO’ is coordinated by Leibniz University Hannover and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with 3.2 million euros. A total of seven partners from Germany, Austria and Croatia are involved in the project.

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