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Corjan van den Berg, Costas Nikiforidis, Jacqueline Bloemhof, Emiel Wubben, Harry Bitter, Ellen Slegers, Arnout Fischer, Marian Vermue, Serve Kengen, Justus Wesseler, Argyris Kanellopoulos, and Dmytro Krushynskyi

The world is moving from using fossil resources to sustainable biobased ones. In order to be truly sustainable, alternative, biobased resources also need to be economically viable. To be successful, corporations need to be able to navigate the challenges and opportunities in this dynamic field. This MicroMasters program is intended for those currently working in the energy, chemical and biotech industries and seeking to make a shift to more sustainable practices. It will focus on the use of chemical and biotechnological approaches for the production of energy-carriers, polymers, chemical building blocks and materials from renewable resources and waste streams.

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The world is moving from using fossil resources to sustainable biobased ones. In order to be truly sustainable, alternative, biobased resources also need to be economically viable. To be successful, corporations need to be able to navigate the challenges and opportunities in this dynamic field. This MicroMasters program is intended for those currently working in the energy, chemical and biotech industries and seeking to make a shift to more sustainable practices. It will focus on the use of chemical and biotechnological approaches for the production of energy-carriers, polymers, chemical building blocks and materials from renewable resources and waste streams.

Completion of this MicroMasters program in Chemistry and Technology for Sustainability will enable you to discover new resources and help your company make the switch from fossil to renewable, biobased resources.

The only way to obtain the MicroMasters program certificate is to complete and pass all courses in the programme with a verified (paid) certificate. You may browse individual courses for free before deciding to pursue the entire programme. However, some course content is only available to verified learners.

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What's inside

Four courses

From Fossil Resources to Biomass: A Business and Economics Perspective

(120 hours)
Explore how to create a sustainable future by moving away from fossil resources to biomass for food, chemicals, and energy. This course focuses on marketing and selling biobased products within a profitable business model.

Biorefinery: From Biomass to Building Blocks of Biobased Products

(112 hours)
The use of fossil resources is a controversial topic, and there is much scientific research to argue against their use for energy, chemicals, and in the production of almost every product. Because of this, we're seeing a huge shift towards sustainable biobased and renewable resources and away from fossil-based ones. In this new world, it's critical to know how to efficiently and effectively obtain valuable elements from biomass.

Catalytic Conversions for Biobased Chemicals and Products

(70 hours)
Biomass is the only renewable feedstock that contains the carbon atoms needed to make the molecules to create chemicals, materials, and fuels. This course focuses on the design of an effective (catalytic) process for the conversions of biobased feedstocks to desired products.

Capstone Chemistry and Technology for Sustainability

(128 hours)
In this capstone project, you will design a sustainable biobased process. The emphasis of the project is on conversion. You will design a process from biomass to a finished product and discuss your choices for a catalyst, reactor type, organism, and feedstock. You should be able to discuss your choices in the broad picture of sustainability while emphasizing the conversion aspects of the process.

Learning objectives

  • Understand the challenges of switching from a fossil source-based economy to a biobased economy.
  • Understand how to identify suitable raw materials and create valuable new products.
  • Learn how to refine biomass without damaging its valuable components.
  • Perform a functional analysis of potential methods that can be used for refining a resource.
  • Learn how to efficiently convert biobased feedstocks into desired products.
  • Evaluate technological, ethical, societal and economic consequences in the production of biobased products.

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