Avondlezing door prof.dr. Chris Slootweg, georganiseerd door de Bossche Chemische Kring.
Smarter Chemistry, Green, Circular and Safe by Design
Summary
In addition to the well-known Green Chemistry principles that have revolutionized optimizing and sustaining linear processes, Circular Chemistry moves beyond value extension and aims at making chemical processes and production cycles circular by using waste (or ideally products) as resource.
In this lecture, I will highlight the importance of closing the loops as well as stress the need to develop Circular Technologies, which use chemistry as enabling tool, to target the conservation of critical raw materials (element scarcity) as well as contribute to solving pressing waste problems.
Such an endeavor will combine molecular design and synthesis with the environmental fate and impact of current products targeting safe by design (no persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic compounds; green chemistry) and design for re-use, recovery and recycling (circular chemistry).
In particular, I will showcase our advances in phosphate recycling, metal-free radical activation of methane, and liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) to enable large-scale transport of hydrogen.
CV
Chris Slootweg was born in Haarlem (The Netherlands) in 1978 and received his undergraduate education from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2001, with research stays at the University of Amsterdam (Prof. Piet van Leeuwen) and University of Sussex (Prof. Michael Lappert).
After earning his PhD in 2005 under the supervision of Prof. Koop Lammertsma, he pursued postdoctoral studies at the ETH Zürich with Peter Chen.
He started his independent scientific career in 2006 at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2014 and moved to the University of Amsterdam in 2016.
Since September 2024, he has been a full professor of circular chemistry. The mission of his laboratory is to educate students at the intersection of fundamental physical organic chemistry, main-group chemistry, and circular chemistry.
Chris is co-founder and scientific advisor of SusPhos BV, a pioneering company focused on upcycling phosphate-rich waste streams to generate high-quality alternatives to replace current fossil-sourced products.
Selected grants and awards
- NWO VICI grant Enabling the Sustainable Use of Phosphorus through Novel Redox Cycling Processes
- H2Fuel R&D programme Development of Metal Borohydrides as Circular Hydrogen Carriers
- NWO ENW Stairway to Impact Award 2020
- NWO Gouden KIEM award for best chemical start-up of the year 2019: SusPhos BV
- Amsterdam Science & Innovation Award (natural sciences): Circular phosphate economy: Pioneers in closing the phosphorus cycle
- Thieme Chemistry Journals Award winner 2019
- Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers
- NWO VIDI grant Can main-group elements do the job of transition metals?
Some other academic activities
- Editor-in-Chief of Sustainability & Circularity NOW
- Editorial Advisory Board member ChemistryEurope
- Director Demonstrator Lab Science Park
- Education Director of the bachelor programme Science, Technology & Innovation
Introducé(e)s zijn van harte welkom.
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