Lanny & Charlotte Schmidt Professor Paul J. Dauenhauer | |
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Born | 1980 (age 43–44) |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | University of Wisconsin, Madison University of Minnesota |
Known for | Catalytic resonance theory Cellulose Chemistry Renewable Chemicals Programmable Catalysts |
Awards | MacArthur Fellow (2020) Rutherford Aris Award (2016) Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar (2014) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Chemical Engineer, Catalysis |
Institutions | University of Minnesota University of Massachusetts |
Doctoral advisor | Lanny Schmidt |
External videos | |
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“An Ocean of Sustainable Carbon: A Future of Novel Materials from Biomass” “Beyond the Classroom: Process Chemistry” |
Paul Dauenhauer (born 1980), a chemical engineer and MacArthur Fellow, is the Lanny & Charlotte Schmidt Professor at the University of Minnesota (UMN). He is recognized for his research in catalysis science and engineering, especially, his contributions to the understanding of the catalytic breakdown of cellulose to renewable chemicals, the invention of oleo-furan surfactants, and the development of catalytic resonance theory and programmable catalysts. [1]
Paul Dauenhauer was born in 1980 in Texas, US, and was raised in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, attending Lincoln High School. [2] He received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2004. Working under the supervision of Lanny Schmidt at the University of Minnesota, Dauenhauer received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 2008 from the Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science. His dissertation described the development of reactive flash volatilization and was titled "Millisecond autothermal catalytic reforming of carbohydrates for synthetic fuels by reactive flash volatilization". [3]
Following graduation from Minnesota, Dauenhauer served as a senior research engineer at the Dow Chemical Company in Midland, MI, and Freeport, TX. [4] He started as an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2009 before promotion to associate professor in 2014. [5] In 2014, he moved to the Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science (CEMS) at the University of Minnesota, where he was promoted to professor, and then appointed Lanny Schmidt Honorary Professor in 2019. During this time, he co-founded or contributed to the founding of startup companies Activated Research Company, Sironix Renewables, and enVerde, LLC. [6]
Dauenhauer's focus on renewable chemicals produced from glucose has targeted both drop-in replacement chemicals and new chemicals with novel characteristics. In 2012, he discovered a high yield pathway to synthesize p-xylene from glucose; this molecule is the key ingredient in polyethylene terephthalate plastic. [7] This process technology utilized a new class of weak acid zeolites that permits the manufacture of biorenewable polyester. [8]
In 2015, Dauenhauer and his team developed a new class of surfactants, detergents, and soaps that are derived from biomass (furans from sugars and fatty acids from triglycerides), oleo-furan sulfonates (OFS). [9] These molecules were shown to have high hard water stability (>1000 ppm Ca++) and are being commercialized by Sironix Renewables, Inc. [10]
In 2016, Dauenhauer and Abdelrahman developed the acid-catalyzed dehydra-decyclization mechanism that simultaneously opens cyclic ether rings and dehydrates to synthesize diene products. [11] This technology was subsequently used to optimize the catalytic production of isoprene, the key chemical in the production of car tires. Subsequent research identified pathways to similarly convert biomass-derived tetrahydrofuran to butadiene and 2-methyl-tetrahydrofuran to piperylene. [12]
In 2022, Dauenhauer and his laboratory invented a highly selective catalytic technology to convert lactic acid to acrylic acid and associated acrylates. This technology enables the use of existing facilities to convert maize (i.e., corn) to lactic acid as upstream feedstock providers for biorenewable sustainable acrylic acid and acryaltes, which are the key ingredient in products such as paints, coatings, and diapers. [13] This research was patented and is the foundational technology for the formation of Lakril Technologies, a startup company in Chicago, IL.
Key publications include:
Dauenhauer's study of cellulose in 2008 led to the discovery of an intermediate liquid state of short-chain cellulose oligomers of sub-second duration at temperatures around 500 deg C. [17] He further outlined the challenges in understanding high temperature cellulose chemistry by publishing his "Top Ten Challenges" of biomass pyrolysis in 2012, [18] one of which was based on his discovery of the mechanism of aerosol formation through liquid intermediate cellulose. [19]
Dauenhauer further developed a new reactor technique called 'PHASR' (Pulse-Heated Analysis of Solid Reactions) which led to the first isothermal kinetics of cellulose conversion and product formation. [20] This technique permitted a molecular analysis of cellulose activation and the discovery that cellulose has a unique reaction transition at 467 deg C. [21] The high temperature kinetic transition was attributed to the catalytic role of chain-to-chain cellulose hydroxyl groups in stabilizing the chain fragmentation of inter-monomer bonds. [22]
Key publications include:
Catalytic resonance theory was proposed by Dauenhauer based on the Sabatier principle of catalysis developed by French chemist Paul Sabatier. Optimal catalyst performance is depicted as a 'volcano' peak using a descriptor of the chemical reaction defining different catalytic materials. Experimental evidence of the Sabatier principle was first demonstrated by Balandin in 1960. [25] [26] In his initial discovery of the behavior of oscillating chemical reactions on metal surfaces, Dauenhauer showed that steady state reaction rates could achieve chemical reaction speeds as much as 1000 times greater than previously achievable rates, even with optimized catalytic systems. [27] This work broke down surface chemical reactions into its component parts and associated natural frequencies, which could be matched to resonate with the catalytic surface frequencies. [28]
Follow-up work on catalytic resonance theory by Dauenhauer and his team broadened to understand the relationship between surface chemistry with its linear scaling relationships and the surface binding energy oscillation waveform. [29] He introduced the concept of superVolcanoes as a superposition of all possible Sabatier volcanoes for varying linear scaling parameters, before further connecting the behavior of oscillating catalytic surfaces to molecular machines and pumps.
Key publications include:
Paul Dauenhauer has developed multiple technologies that have been patented and licensed from the University of Minnesota to his startup companies located throughout the United States. The common theme across all startups and technologies is a focus on economic catalytic conversion for more sustainable energy and materials. Companies include:
(www.lakril.com). Låkril Technologies catalyzes sustainability in chemical processes through sales of acrylic acid, acrylates, and licensing of related catalyst and process technology. They provide competitive alternatives to high volume petrochemicals to help decrease the world's CO₂ intensity via catalyst technology for catalytic dehydration of α-hydroxy acids (e.g., lactic acid) allows the supply of sustainable, bio-based acrylic acid and acrylate derivatives as drop-in replacements to the paints, coatings, adhesives, and superabsorbents industries at cost parity. The core technology of Lakril Technologies is based on the catalyst invention of the Dauenhauer Laboratory at the University of Minnesota to convert lactic acid to acrylic acid. [33]
Sironix converts plants into eco-friendly cleaning ingredients which are marketed with the tagline, "so your conscience can be as clean as your clothes." The flagship detergent products called 'Eosix' are derived from renewable resources and provide advanced cleaning performance in both hard and cold water using molecular synthesis and design developed in the Dauenhauer Laboratory at the University of Minnesota. The active ingredient, oleo-furan sulfonate, was invented via combination of natural oil-derived fatty acids with sugar-derived furans, followed by sulfonation in an overall efficient and sustainable catalytic process. [34]
Activated Research Company (ARC) is at the forefront of developing revolutionary products that redefine the standards in chemical analysis. The company create easy-to-use GC-FID (gas chromatography flame ionization detector) and LC-FID (liquid chromatography flame ionization detector) technologies that deliver exceptional data results across a diverse range of industries. The flagship product, the Polyarc detector, was developed in the Dauenhauer Laboratory at the University of Minnesota to enable simple and accurate quantification of complex chemical mixtures without calibration. [35] ARC detectors were acquired by Shimadzu in 2024. [36]
Carba provides a unique reactor technology to convert plant-based low-value waste material into torrefied carbon product that can be secured underground for millennia to sequester carbon. Using fundamental insight from the Dauenhauer Laboratory at the University of Minnesota, [37] the Carba portable torrefaction reactor achieves high throughput for low capital investment and operating expense to manufacture sequestered carbon with long-term permanence that outcompetes competitors on energy efficiency and cost. [38]
External videos | |
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“Paul Dauenhauer, Chemical Engineering, 2020 MacArthur Fellow” "2019 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering" |
Professor Dauenhauer has supervised 20 Ph.D. students and advised ten post-doctoral scholars. [39] He has published over 130 peer-reviewed papers and 10 patents. [40] He has given over 50 invited seminars and lectures including the Eastman Lecture at the U of California (2021), Berkeley, the Notre Dame Thiele lecture in 2017, and the Purdue Mellichamp lecture in 2016. He has received numerous awards for his work including: [41]
Catalysis is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst. Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quickly, very small amounts of catalyst often suffice; mixing, surface area, and temperature are important factors in reaction rate. Catalysts generally react with one or more reactants to form intermediates that subsequently give the final reaction product, in the process of regenerating the catalyst.
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula (C
6H
10O
5)
n, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and the oomycetes. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on Earth. The cellulose content of cotton fibre is 90%, that of wood is 40–50%, and that of dried hemp is approximately 57%.
Furfural is an organic compound with the formula C4H3OCHO. It is a colorless liquid, although commercial samples are often brown. It has an aldehyde group attached to the 2-position of furan. It is a product of the dehydration of sugars, as occurs in a variety of agricultural byproducts, including corncobs, oat, wheat bran, and sawdust. The name furfural comes from the Latin word furfur, meaning bran, referring to its usual source. Furfural is only derived from dried biomass. In addition to ethanol, acetic acid, and sugar, furfural is one of the oldest organic chemicals available readily purified from natural precursors.
Green chemistry, similar to sustainable chemistry or circular chemistry, is an area of chemistry and chemical engineering focused on the design of products and processes that minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. While environmental chemistry focuses on the effects of polluting chemicals on nature, green chemistry focuses on the environmental impact of chemistry, including lowering consumption of nonrenewable resources and technological approaches for preventing pollution.
Lignocellulose refers to plant dry matter (biomass), so called lignocellulosic biomass. It is the most abundantly available raw material on the Earth for the production of biofuels. It is composed of two kinds of carbohydrate polymers, cellulose and hemicellulose, and an aromatic-rich polymer called lignin. Any biomass rich in cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin are commonly referred to as lignocellulosic biomass. Each component has a distinct chemical behavior. Being a composite of three very different components makes the processing of lignocellulose challenging. The evolved resistance to degradation or even separation is referred to as recalcitrance. Overcoming this recalcitrance to produce useful, high value products requires a combination of heat, chemicals, enzymes, and microorganisms. These carbohydrate-containing polymers contain different sugar monomers and they are covalently bound to lignin.
The Willard Gibbs Award, presented by the Chicago Section of the American Chemical Society, was established in 1910 by William A. Converse (1862–1940), a former Chairman and Secretary of the Chicago Section of the society and named for Professor Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839–1903) of Yale University. Gibbs, whose formulation of the Phase Rule founded a new science, is considered by many to be the only American-born scientist whose discoveries are as fundamental in nature as those of Newton and Galileo.
γ-Valerolactone (GVL) or gamma-valerolactone is an organic compound with the formula C5H8O2. This colourless liquid is one of the more common lactones. GVL is chiral but is usually used as the racemate. It is readily obtained from cellulosic biomass and is a potential fuel and green solvent.
Reactive flash volatilization (RFV) is a chemical process that rapidly converts nonvolatile solids and liquids to volatile compounds by thermal decomposition for integration with catalytic chemistries.
Lanny D. Schmidt was an American chemist, inventor, author, and Regents Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota. He is well known for his extensive work in surface science, detailed chemistry (microkinetics), chemical reaction engineering, catalysis, and renewable energy. He is also well known for mentoring over a hundred graduate students and his work on millisecond reactors and reactive flash volatilization.
2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is an organic chemical compound consisting of two carboxylic acid groups attached to a central furan ring. It was first reported as dehydromucic acid by Rudolph Fittig and Heinzelmann in 1876, who produced it via the action of concentrated hydrobromic acid upon mucic acid. It can be produced from certain carbohydrates and as such is a renewable resource, it was identified by the US Department of Energy as one of 12 priority chemicals for establishing the “green” chemistry industry of the future. Furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) has been suggested as an important renewable building block because it can substitute for terephthalic acid (PTA) in the production of polyesters and other current polymers containing an aromatic moiety.
Bioproducts or bio-based products are materials, chemicals and energy derived from renewable biological material.
Chemical reaction engineering is a specialty in chemical engineering or industrial chemistry dealing with chemical reactors. Frequently the term relates specifically to catalytic reaction systems where either a homogeneous or heterogeneous catalyst is present in the reactor. Sometimes a reactor per se is not present by itself, but rather is integrated into a process, for example in reactive separations vessels, retorts, certain fuel cells, and photocatalytic surfaces. The issue of solvent effects on reaction kinetics is also considered as an integral part.
2,5-Bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) is a heterocyclic organic compound, and is a derivative of a broader class of compounds known as furans. It is produced from cellulose and has received attention as a biofeedstock. It is a white solid, although commercial samples can appear yellowish or tan.
Donna Blackmond is an American chemical engineer and the John C. Martin Endowed Chair in Chemistry at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California. Her research focuses on prebiotic chemistry, the origin of biological homochirality, and kinetics and mechanisms of asymmetric catalytic reactions. She is known for her development of Reaction Progress Kinetic Analysis (RPKA), analysis of non-linear effects of catalyst enantiopurity, biological homochirality, and amino acid behavior.
Mahdi Muhammad Abu-Omar is a Palestinian-American chemist, currently the Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Professor of Green Chemistry in the Departments of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering at University of California, Santa Barbara.
Raymond John Gorte is an American chemical engineer, currently the Russel Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Endowed Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) and Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) at the University of Pennsylvania. Throughout his career at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Minnesota, he has advanced the study of fuel cells and catalysts including heterogeneous metals and zeolite materials. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.
Dionisios G. Vlachos is an American chemical engineer, the Allan & Myra Ferguson Endowed Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Delaware and director of the Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation, a U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Frontiers Research Center. Throughout his career at University of Delaware and the University of Minnesota, he has advanced the study of catalysts and reaction engineering including catalytic applications in biomass utilization, alkane conversion and zeolites. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and recipient of the Wilhelm Award of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (2011).
Levoglucosenone is an organic compound with the formula [OCH2(CH)4CO2]. A pale yellow liquid, it is an unsaturated bicyclic ketone-diether formed from levoglucosan by loss of two molecules of water. As a product of the acid-catalysed pyrolysis of cellulose, D-glucose, and levoglucosan, this liquid hydrocarbon is of interest as a biofuel and biofeedstock.
In chemistry, catalytic resonance theory was developed to describe the kinetics of reaction acceleration using dynamic catalyst surfaces. Catalytic reactions occur on surfaces that undergo variation in surface binding energy and/or entropy, exhibiting overall increase in reaction rate when the surface binding energy frequencies are comparable to the natural frequencies of the surface reaction, adsorption, and desorption.
Hilkka Inkeri Kenttämaa is a researcher in organic and bioorganic mass spectrometry, and the Frank Brown Endowed Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University. She is a pioneer in distonic radical cation research and laser-induced acoustic desorption.