PROGRAM AREA PRIORITY: BIOPROCESSING AND BIOENGINEERINGGOAL: OUR GOAL IS TO DEVELOP NEW MARKETS, PRODUCTS, AND PROCESSES USING ACTIVATED CARBON MONOLITH CATALYSTS PRODUCED FROM WOOD AND TO GENERATE VALUE ADDED PRODUCTS FROM PLATFORM CHEMICALS DERIVED FROM AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST RESOURCES. RATIONALE: ACTIVATED CARBON MONOLITHIC CATALYSTS (ACMC) HAVE MANY ADVANTAGES OVER TRADITIONAL CATALYSTS AND REACTOR DESIGN METHODS TARGETED FOR BIO-BASED PLATFORM CHEMICAL PRODUCTION, YET ARE NOT CURRENTLY USED INDUSTRIALLY AND RARELY STUDIED. ACMC WOULD ENABLE CONTINUOUS PROCESSING, LOWER OPERATING COSTS, AND ALLOW RAPID SCALE-UP OF HYDROGENATION AND ESTERIFICATION REACTIONS IN FINE, SPECIALTY, AND BIO-BASED CHEMICALS PRODUCTION.OBJECTIVES: 1) DEVELOP A CONTINUOUS HYDROGENATION PROCESS USING CARBON MONOLITH CATALYSTS DERIVED FROM WOOD TO PRODUCE CYCLOPENTANONE FROM FURFURAL FOR LIQUID CRYSTALS, FRAGRANCES, AND PHARMACEUTICALS, 2) DEVELOP A BI-FUNCTIONAL CARBON MONOLITH CATALYST CAPABLE OF CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCING BICYCLOPENTANE (AVIATION FUEL) FROM CYCLOPENTANONE, 3) DEVELOP A METHOD TO ATTACH ENZYMES TO THE CARBON MONOLITH CATALYST AND DEMONSTRATE A BIOCATALYTIC REACTION USING THE NEWLY DEVELOPED MATERIAL.IMPACT: THIS RESEARCH WILL IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF BIO-BASED CHEMICALS FROM BIOMASS, ENGINEER A NEW PRODUCT FROM FOREST RESOURCES, AND ENHANCE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF CHEMICAL AND MATERIALS PRODUCTION FROM BIOMASS.