TNO
About this position
The chemicals industry produces over billion tons per year, with the products forming the basis of our modern economy, with almost all products we use being influenced by chemicals in one way or another. Currently, these are predominantly derived from fossil sources resulting in significant greenhouse gas emissions, out of line with global efforts to combat climate change and meet international climate targets, such as those set by the Paris Agreement. Additionally, the security of supply of chemicals is a forefront issue, having been acutely exposed by the recent geopolitical developments. Finally, there is a growing demand for sustainability from consumers and brand owners alike, with CO2-footprint reduction a major goal. Biobased chemicals offer a promising solution to these problems. Using locally produced, non-food competitive residues as feedstocks for chemicals, rather than petrochemicals, improves the carbon-footprint while reducing geopolitical dependencies. To this end, TNO has developed platform technologies to efficiently convert non-edible hemicelluloses to a range of interesting biobased-chemicals products for a range of end-used products, based on the platform chemical furfural.
What will be your role?
In this project, you will investigate the conversion of furfural and furfural-derived materials into higher-value, commercially attractive products. Your work will involve screening catalysts and conditions to determine the most promising options and testing the scope of the reaction where relevant. When necessary, new catalysts will be prepared. Theoretical modeling approaches will be applied, followed by experimental validation whenever possible. A key aspect of the development will be interpreting results using various analytical techniques, such as NMR, GC(MS), HPLC(MS), to quantify conversions, identify intermediates and by-products, and better understand the conversions taking place. Throughout the project, you will collaborate with experienced chemists and engineers from the Biorizon team to propose solutions for further improving the processes.
What we expect from you
We expect that you will:
What you’ll get in return
You want an internship opportunity on the precursor of your career; an internship gives you an opportunity to take a good look at your prospective future employer. TNO goes a step further. It’s not just looking that interests us; you and your knowledge are essential to our innovation. That’s why we attach a great deal of value to your personal and professional development. You will, of course, be properly supervised during your work placement and be given the scope for you to get the best out of yourself. Furthermore, we provide:
