Brent H. Shanks is the Mike and Jean Steffenson Chair and the
Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University


ABSTRACT

Much of the effort in converting biomass to biobased chemicals has been driven by the retrosynthesis of target molecules. An alternative approach is the synthesis of “bioprivileged molecules” that are biology-derived chemical species that can be readily converted to a diversity of chemical products including drop-in replacements and novel species, which can be used for next generation materials, specialty chemicals, nutraceuticals, antimicrobials, insecticides, herbicides, consumer goods, etc. The dual potentiality of a bioprivileged molecule is vital in creating value from biomass since innovative bioproducts represents a powerful driver for the development of biobased chemicals beyond just replacing fossil carbon with renewable carbon. The important role of these molecules has been demonstrated as key intermediates in the integration of biology and chemistry by our NSF Engineering Research Center for Biorenewable Chemicals (CBiRC). Several examples of bioprivileged molecules being developed by CBiRC will be discussed.

This is the Annual Blue/Green Seminar, a joint lecture series inaugurated in Winter 1982 between the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan and the Department of Chemical and Material Science Department at Michigan State University.