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WageningenX: Catalytic Conversions for Biobased Chemicals and Products

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Design new (bio)catalytic conversion routes that allow you to use biobased feedstocks to their highest potential as building blocks for chemicals, materials and fuels.

Catalytic Conversions for Biobased Chemicals and Products
5 weeks
12–16 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
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Starts Nov 19
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Catalytic Conversions for Biobased Chemicals and Products

About this course

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Biomass is the only renewable feedstock which contains the carbon atoms needed to make the molecules to create chemicals, materials and fuels. However, the majority of our current scientific and industrial knowledge on conversion is based on fossil feedstock processing.

Join the MOOC Catalytic Conversions for Biobased Chemicals and Products if you want to advance your career and explore the relevant fundamental knowledge on (bio)catalytic conversionfor producing(new) biobased building blocks, chemicals and products.

The focus on this course is the design of an effective (catalytic) process for the conversions of biobased feedstocks to desired products. Unique for bioconversion is the presence of the elements O, N, P, S and large quantities of water. You will therefore will explore:

  • Microbial, biochemical and chemical (i.e., catalytic) conversion routes.
  • How to use biocatalysts, home- or heterogeneous catalysts and optimize the process of conversion. Tune catalysts to their specific advantages and disadvantages for biobased conversions.
  • The influence of the reactor choice as an inevitable asset in the process.
  • How to describe the productivity of catalytic processes depending on the choice of the reactor and how the choice of the reactor can add to the stability of the conversion process.

The knowledge gained in this course will allow you to design processes specifically targeted on biomass based conversions. Learners will also have the opportunity to interact with chemists, engineers and scientists who mainly focus on the traditional fossil-based conversions.

This course is part of the MicroMasters Program in Chemistry and Technology for Sustainability: a series of 3 courses and a final capstone project designed togive you the skills needed tocontribute toand embrace the transition from a fossil-based economy to a biobased one. It's especially valuable to those who have (or ambition to have) a career in industries such as: the (bio)chemical industry, agrifood water companies, energy producers, logistics, and related (non-)governmental organizations.

Explore the other courses in the MicroMasters Program:

At a glance

What you'll learn

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  • How to efficiently convert biobased feedstocks into desired products
  • To understand, evaluate and design a process based on either homogeneous, heterogeneous or biocatalysts
  • Critically evaluate the pros and cons of a biobased conversion route vs a fossil-based conversion route

Syllabus

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Module 1: Introduction to Biobased Conversions
This introduction module starts by refreshing your knowledge of the three pillars of this course: chemical conversions, microbial conversions and reactor design. You'll then be introduced to homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, learn about anaerobic and aerobic microorganisms and start applying mass balances on different types of reactors.

Module 2: Development and Performance of Catalysts
Here the focus is on the catalyst. You learn how heterogeneous catalysts are synthesised and how a suitable microorganism or mixed culture is selected. It's also important to verify if your conversion has been efficient. You'll therefore learn several methods of how to quantify the performance of your catalyst.

Module 3: Reaction Kinetics in Reactor Design
A perfect catalyst can still give disappointing results if it's not run under ideal conditions. In this module, deactivation processes are central and you will study how to account for them in reaction kinetics. We'll also counter thermal deactivation either by cooling with cold water or by evaporation.

Module 4: Improving Biobased Conversion Processes
In this module, we'll touch upon improving a biobased conversion process. You'll see what tools are useful for the characterisation of your catalyst and we'll touch upon strain engineering. You'll also learn how to determine the limiting factor that impacts your conversion rate. Finally, we will take a closer look at improving conversion rates in heterogeneous catalysts.

Module 5: Exam
It's time to test what you have learned on biobased conversion processes!

Frequently Asked Questions

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Do you have questions about the MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and/or related online programmes of Wageningen University & Research? To help you find answers to your questions, we created a list with frequently asked questions about enrolling, participating in- and finishing a MOOC.

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. edX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

This course is part of Chemistry and Technology for Sustainability MicroMasters Program

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Expert instruction
4 graduate-level courses
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
6 months
14 - 21 hours per week

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$189 USD

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