New trends in the catalytic conversion of renewables and LCA analysis in the perspective of sustainability

16 Apr

Prof. Anna Maria Raspolli Galletti (9h) and Prof. Claudia Antonetti (9h), Università di Pisa

EMAIL: anna.maria.raspolli.galletti@unipi.it; claudia.antonetti@unipi.it

April 13– May 15, 2026

18 h, 3 CFU

The catalytic conversion of renewables, and in particular of raw substrates, represents  one of the most challenging and studied topics in the last years, due to the large applicative perspectives of the final products, ranging from biofuels up to valuable intermediates and fine chemicals. The choice of the proper catalytic systems and the tuning of the reaction conditions appeared the crucial point for process optimization. Moreover, in these catalytic processes, the adoption of alternative forms of energy, such as for example ultrasounds or microwaves, can improve the process sustainability. In detail, this last aspect will be evaluated through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA analysis), dealing with the principles of the methodology, the input data collection and analysis, the impact analysis and the interpretation of the obtained results in the perspective of the selected applications, taking into consideration the entire life cycle of the process/product, from cradle to grave. Furthermore, examples of real case studies regarding the catalytic conversion of different raw biomasses will be also presented and discussed.