Contributors:
Thanks for considering to support the show on buymeacoffee.com/innovateandreact ☕️
In this episode of Innovate and React, I welcome my former PhD mentor, Dr. Thomas Seidensticker from TU Dortmund, to explore how oleochemistry can provide a sustainable, locally grown alternative to crude oil for the chemical industry. While the traditional chemical sector relies heavily on cheap fossil fuels, plant oils naturally offer closely related hydrocarbon chains that can be functionalized for everyday products like surfactants, cosmetics, and polymers. However, shifting away from crude oil presents the unique challenge of dealing with complex, inhomogeneous fatty acid profiles that constantly vary by plant origin and season. We discuss the strategic importance of feedstock sovereignty and how diverting plant oils from low-value biodiesel combustion into long-lasting chemical products can create vital carbon sinks to help meet future renewable carbon targets.
How do you transform these varied plant oils into the standardized building blocks the conventional industry demands? Thomas explains the breakthrough potential of utilizing the unsaturated carbon-carbon double bonds in plant oils, highlighting technologies like cross-metathesis and his own university spinoff, Simplyfined. We also dive into the historical 1938 roots of homogeneous catalysis, the logistical hurdles of scaling pilot volumes, and why agile startups are essential for taking the disruptive technological risks that large, slow-moving chemical corporations currently avoid.
- 00:01 What is Oleochemistry?
- 06:21 From Biodiesel to High-Value Chemicals and Carbon Sinks
- 13:58 Innovative Transformations and Industry Adoption
- 26:58 Bridging Academia and Industry: The Simplyfined Spinoff
- 37:32 A Look Back: The 1938 Discovery of Homogeneous Catalysis
Here you can find out more about Thomas’ research:
https://tc.bci.tu-dortmund.de/chair/staff/scientific-staff/dr-rer-nat-thomas-seidensticker
Thoms publications on Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0191-4421
Simplyfined: https://www.simplyfined.com
🔔 To not miss an new episode join my newsletter (just notifications for new episodes nothing more): Newsletter
📩 Got a topic, guest idea, or want to talk about your research? Email me at contact@innovateandreact.com
💬 Connect on LinkedIn | ⭐ Follow & Review the podcast to help others discover it!
☕️ Consider to support the shows production and keep me caffeinated www.buymeacoffee.com/innovateandreact
Have questions about this episode? Leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.