Jean-Philippe Tessonnier Seminar
Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University, Jean-Philippe Tessonnier, will deliver a department seminar titled, “Sustainable Chemical Manufacturing Through Integrated Biosynthesis and Electrosynthesis,” Tuesday, September 16th at 1:25 p.m. in room B75 Amundson Hall.
Abstract
The transition to a sustainable and decarbonized chemical industry requires revolutionary processes that harness renewable energy and CO2-sequestering feedstocks for chemical production. Synthetic biology is poised to play a central role in this revolution, as metabolically engineered microorganisms can selectively derive structurally complex chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass. However, biomanufacturing commodity products at an industrial scale remains a daunting endeavor, making convergent strategies that integrate the biological production of platform intermediates and their chemical diversification increasingly attractive. Here, we present an approach that creates synergies between biosynthesis and electrosynthesis to manufacture commodity chemicals and novel compounds that fully capitalize on biomass as a feedstock. Using cis,cis-muconic acid as an exemplary platform intermediate produced through fermentation, we discuss how green electrosynthesis can be leveraged to produce adipic acid (AA), a Nylon monomer, and trans-3-hexenedioic acid (t3HDA), a building block for polyamides with bio-enabled performance advantages. The careful selection of the electrode material enables the separation of surface-mediated hydrogenation from outer-sphere proton-coupled hydrogenation pathways, facilitating the selective production of either AA or t3HDA. Green hydrogen (H2) is the only byproduct at the cathode, thus offering interesting perspectives for the co-production of chemicals and fuels from renewable resources. Next, we further discuss the design of (electro)catalysts for the conversion of multifunctional chemicals. We show how rate and selectivity can be modulated for conventional precious metal catalysts like Pd/C by controlling the functionalization of the carbon support. Using reduced graphene oxide as a model carbon, we demonstrate how oxygen species ubiquitous on carbon surfaces alter the support’s work function and control the selectivity of supported metals through electronic metal-support interactions.
Jean-Philippe Tessonnier Biography
Jean-Philippe Tessonnier is the Richard C. Seagrave Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University and an Associate Editor for Green Chemistry. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Strasbourg, France. He then joined the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin, Germany, where he led various projects on nanocarbons for catalysis. After a short stay at the University of Delaware, he joined the faculty at Iowa State University. His research interests are at the intersection of heterogeneous catalysis, materials science, electrocatalysis, and organic electrosynthesis. In 2020, he chaired a National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy-funded workshop on Electroorganic Chemistry: from Synthesis to Chemical Manufacturing. Since then, his research has evolved to focus on novel electrocatalysts and processes for the sustainable production of chemicals and aviation fuels. Dr. Tessonnier has published 100 peer-reviewed articles and is a co-inventor on 17 patents. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors.
