Industry sponsor seeks investment opportunities

Investigators interested in the following opportunity are asked to send a one-page description of their proposed technology to Naeema Bhyat at naeema.bhyat@cmc-nce.ca

An industry sponsor seeks the disclosure of inventions that convert CO₂ to high value chemicals that may be used to produce a wide variety of end products.

As a major component of waste emissions from industrial combustion processes, CO₂ is believed to be a significant contributor to global warming. CO₂ sequestration and recycling by incorporation into high value chemical intermediates will provide a means to reduce emissions as well as provide cost-effective alternative approaches to chemical production.

Processes that convert CO₂ to high value chemical intermediates are of interest. These chemical intermediates can then be used as alternative raw materials for petroleum-based products, such as fuels, solvents, polymers, plastics, packaging materials, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and other fine chemicals.

In addition to CO₂, other inputs to conversion processes include other chemicals involved in reaction with CO₂ and sources of energy that may be required for effective chemical transformation. Chemical products obtained may be chemical building blocks used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, polymers, plastics, packaging materials, consumer products, and/or other fine chemicals. Alternatively, CO₂ may be converted by catalytic and redox processes to simple organic compounds, such as CO in syngas or methanol, which have value as fuels.

Methods for sequestration involving CO₂ capture only is not of interest.

The following areas of innovation are of particular interest:

• Novel, inexpensive, and easily scalable methods, systems, and catalysts for converting CO₂ to polymers including, but not limited to, polyacrylates, polyalkylene carbonate, polyesters, polyformaldehydes, polypropylene/ethylene carbonate, etc.
• Novel, inexpensive, and easily scalable methods, systems, and catalysts for converting CO₂ to chemical intermediates including, but not limited to, polymerizable monomers, pharmaceutical intermediates, organic solvents, alcohols, organic acids, ethylene glycol, ethylene oxide, amino acids, etc.
• Novel, inexpensive, and easily scalable methods, systems, and catalysts for converting CO₂ to industrially useful inorganic compounds including, but not limited to, carbon nanotubes, graphene, graphene oxide, carbon fiber, etc.
• Novel and improved catalysts and processes for the manufacture of CO₂-derived fuels, such as CO, methanol, methane, etc.
• Novel polymers, especially biodegradable polymers, which utilize CO₂ as a monomer unit.
• Novel methods for the transformation of CO₂ into chemical intermediates with applications in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and other fine chemicals.
• Novel chemical intermediates with applications in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and other fine chemicals which utilize CO₂ as a starting reagent.
• Novel methods and new processes that combine both reduction of CO₂ and formation of CC, CN, and CO bonds.
• Novel catalytic materials that are made from low cost materials, such as Cu, Pd, Fe, Mg, Mo, etc.
• Reductive functionalization reagents.
• Selective conversion of CO₂ with high yield or easy separation of intermediates.