Chemical Society Seminar: Dr. Fran Kerton - Ocean-related Sustainable Chemistry

This talk will begin with a brief introduction to why sustainable chemistry is important for the health of our oceans and planet, followed by a presentation of our recent results. During the past five years, several researchers in my group have focused their efforts on trying to add value to renewable feedstocks in particular carbon dioxide and biomass. As Newfoundland has a strong history in the fishing industry and a growing presence in aquaculture, we have become particularly interested in waste streams from these industries.  We began our studies on chitin, chitosan and amino-sugars that can be obtained as by-products from crab and shrimp processing. More recently, we have started to investigate mussel shells as a renewable source of calcium carbonate.   Research that will be presented includes: (i) NMR-based mechanistic investigations, (ii) Water as a reaction medium, (iii) 'Greener' analytical method development, (iv) Depolymerization of chitin and (v) Biocatalysis. For example, we are currently assessing mass spectrometric methods (MALDI-TOF and DESI) for quantification of sugars and platform chemicals derived from them. Therein, we are avoiding separation technologies such as LC in order to minimize solvent use and reduce analytical timeframes.