AVT - Research - Research project

The project is part of the Cluster of Excellence „"Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass" (http://www.fuelcenter.rwth-aachen.de) to develop new processes for the third generation of biofuels. The excellence cluster adopts an interdisciplinary approach through the application of optimized synthesis processes towards research of new, biomass-based, synthetic fuels. The goal is to verify their potential, with regard to modern combustion technologies, while simultaneously reducing the dependence on fossil fuels. The interdisciplinary nature of this approach is the key to a holistic and sustainable solution for future vehicular traffic, which is a basic necessity for a modern society.

This project is concerned with the mechanistically motivated characterization of enzymatic cellulose depolymerization. Ionic liquids are used as a new generation of solvents for dissolving cellulose and hemicellulose. Online measurement techniques, such as light scattering and fluorescence, allow the use of rapid screening procedures to analyze dissolution characteristics and enzyme activities in µL scale.

A number of different enzyme activities are working together simultaneously during the hydrolysis of cellulose. The aim of this project is to understand individual enzyme mechanisms and kinetics in order to optimize the reaction system and its synergistic effects. Innovative analytical procedures, such as gel permeation chromatography in combination with multi angle light scattering are used to measure absolute molecular weight distribution of the cellulose chains. Changes in the chain length distribution during the enzymatic hydrolysis are used in mechanistic kinetic models of the enzyme reaction using population balances.