The SCI Sydney Andrew Scholarships supports PhD students studying subjects in emerging areas of agriculture and the chemical industry.
We are delighted to announce that Edward Garland, from University College London, has been awarded an SCI Sydney Andrew Scholarship to support his PhD project "Catalysing the transition to 'resource at source'; exploring biomass-to-chemicals to expedite decarbonisation of the chemicals industry".
Dr Sydney Andrew, a brilliant industrial chemical engineer who exemplified the SCI mission of encouraging the application of chemical and related sciences for public benefit, died in November 2011. A life member of SCI, Dr Andrew was awarded the Society’s Medal and have a lecture on ‘Neglected Science: a view from industry’. He bequeathed a substantial share of his estate to SCI for the support of scientific innovation on the theme of neglected science. These are areas of science which, though of importance in agriculture and the chemical industry, receive scant attention from academic research, and for academic research into Neglected Science
Here Edward tells us about his work:
"My research project addresses the challenge of replacing fossil-based chemical manufacturing with sustainable alternatives through the development of advanced catalysts for the conversion of biomass into value-added chemicals. Plant-derived feedstocks represent an abundant and currently underutilised resource at an industrial level and their valorisation supports more sustainable agri-food systems while reducing waste and environmental impact.
"My work centres on Lewis acid zeolites – porous, crystalline catalytic materials – which have demonstrated strong potential in biomass upgrading reactions while remaining non-hazardous and safe to handle. However, their wider application is limited by an incomplete understanding of the active sites under real operating conditions and challenges in developing efficient multi-step processes from chemically rich feedstocks. This work addresses these limitations through an integrated approach spanning catalyst design, fundamental characterisation, and catalytic testing. The project has already yielded exciting novel Lewis acid catalysts, with initial studies showing promising activity and selectivity for the isomerisation of glucose – a key step in polysaccharide transformations.
"Advanced synchrotron-based techniques, including in situ and operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), are being employed to probe the structure and evolution of metal sites during reaction. These measurements are providing critical insight into catalyst function, enabling the rational design and tailoring of materials for the selective multi-step production of targeted platform chemicals. In particular, a key objective is the targeted conversion of starch-rich agricultural waste such as husks and low-protein soft wheat streams into lactic acid, an important intermediate used in biodegradable plastics and a wide range of downstream chemical syntheses."
Edward Garland
PhD Student
University College London
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