Catalysis Research Earns Technology Transfer Award
(January 2011)
Advances in hydrogen catalysts allow industrial chemists to turn renewable glycerol (aka glycerine) into a common additive called propylene glycol.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has been recognized for its work in bringing lab-developed technologies to the marketplace. The award-winning partnerships are helping create the common chemical propylene glycol from plants.
FLC awards: The Federal Laboratory Consortium has announced that PNNL won awards in 2011 for Excellence in Technology Transfer. The consortium is a nationwide network that encourages federal laboratories to transfer lab-developed technologies to commercial markets. The announcement brings PNNL to a total of 74 FLC awards since the recognition program began in 1984, which is more than any other federal laboratory.
Propylene glycol from renewable sources: Many everyday items from food to liquid detergents and cosmetics contain the additive known as propylene glycol. Commonly made from petroleum, the additive can also be made from plant byproducts. Funded by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, several PNNL researchers developed a chemical catalyst that converts a plant-based compound into the additive so well that an agricultural processing company has built a production facility around it.
Archer Daniels Midland Company licensed the catalytic process from PNNL in 2006 to help consumers kick the oil habit. Adding processes to clean out impurities, ADM built a pilot plant whose highly efficient process generates the additive from plant byproducts cheap enough to compete with propylene glycol derived from oil. Now, they're constructing the first full-scale plant to make propylene glycol from renewable sources. The Decatur, Ill., plant is expected to be fully operational this spring.
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