IX
This book is the English version of a textbook on renewable raw materials that
was published in German by Springer
Spektrum at the beginning of 2018. Due
to the great success in the German-speaking world, the two authors have decided
to publish an extended and updated version in English. The content of the book
is based on a lecture that the authors have
been giving at the TU Dortmund University (Germany) for many years. The book
offers the reader an introduction to the
different groups of renewable raw materials, especially fats and oils, carbohydrates
and terpenoids. Also, more specific topics
such as lignin and natural pharmaceuticals, as well as colorants and fragrances,
are addressed. Individual chapters are
dedicated to current topics such as
biopolymers or biorefineries. All sections
focus on the chemical conversion of raw
materials into valuable products. Also,
technical aspects such as the methods of
recovery or the industrial processing of
the reactions are discussed.
One of the authors, Prof. Behr, worked in
the chemical industry for several years
and acquired considerable experience in
the process development of new processes
with fats and oils, carbohydrates and terpenes. In addition, he has successfully carried
out numerous research projects on these
topics at the Technical University of Dortmund over the past 20 years. This unique
knowledge from practice and research is
passed on to the readers in this book.
This textbook is intended for students of
natural and engineering sciences as well
as for practitioners. The book is unique
in such a way that students can follow up
well on their lectures or acquire the curriculum chapter by chapter in self-study.
Practitioners can quickly learn about
important raw materials, products and
processes, and can familiarize themselves
more deeply with individual topics from
the references.
What is the structure of the book?
5 The book is divided into 20 chapters
of similar size. Each of these chapters starts with a chapter timetable,
which roughly announces the content
and closes with a compact summary.
Detailed illustrations, photos, flow
diagrams and chemical equations
illustrate the text.
5 At the end of each chapter, there are
10 test questions, so-called Quickies.
In the appendix, the reader will find
the answers to the 200 test questions.
5 There is a short literature overview for
each chapter. It consists mainly of references to textbooks and reviews but
also includes some important current
original references.
5 In addition, the text contains numerous “boxes” that describe exciting
aspects, such as historical backgrounds or current developments.
The authors would like to thank Springer
Verlag, especially Dr. Charlotte Hollingworth and Dr. Rainer Münz, for their support in the realization of this book project
and Miss Andréia Bracht for her help
drawing the figures and formulas.
In recent decades, renewable raw materials
have become increasingly important, and
this trend continues. This book provides
the basis for a better understanding of this
future top topic. Have fun reading it!
Arno Behr
Thomas Seidensticker
Dortmund, Germany
August 2020
Preface
This book is the English version of a textbook on renewable raw materials that
was published in German by Springer
Spektrum at the beginning of 2018. Due
to the great success in the German-speaking world, the two authors have decided
to publish an extended and updated version in English. The content of the book
is based on a lecture that the authors have
been giving at the TU Dortmund University (Germany) for many years. The book
offers the reader an introduction to the
different groups of renewable raw materials, especially fats and oils, carbohydrates
and terpenoids. Also, more specific topics
such as lignin and natural pharmaceuticals, as well as colorants and fragrances,
are addressed. Individual chapters are
dedicated to current topics such as
biopolymers or biorefineries. All sections
focus on the chemical conversion of raw
materials into valuable products. Also,
technical aspects such as the methods of
recovery or the industrial processing of
the reactions are discussed.
One of the authors, Prof. Behr, worked in
the chemical industry for several years
and acquired considerable experience in
the process development of new processes
with fats and oils, carbohydrates and terpenes. In addition, he has successfully carried
out numerous research projects on these
topics at the Technical University of Dortmund over the past 20 years. This unique
knowledge from practice and research is
passed on to the readers in this book.
This textbook is intended for students of
natural and engineering sciences as well
as for practitioners. The book is unique
in such a way that students can follow up
well on their lectures or acquire the curriculum chapter by chapter in self-study.
Practitioners can quickly learn about
important raw materials, products and
processes, and can familiarize themselves
more deeply with individual topics from
the references.
What is the structure of the book?
5 The book is divided into 20 chapters
of similar size. Each of these chapters starts with a chapter timetable,
which roughly announces the content
and closes with a compact summary.
Detailed illustrations, photos, flow
diagrams and chemical equations
illustrate the text.
5 At the end of each chapter, there are
10 test questions, so-called Quickies.
In the appendix, the reader will find
the answers to the 200 test questions.
5 There is a short literature overview for
each chapter. It consists mainly of references to textbooks and reviews but
also includes some important current
original references.
5 In addition, the text contains numerous “boxes” that describe exciting
aspects, such as historical backgrounds or current developments.
The authors would like to thank Springer
Verlag, especially Dr. Charlotte Hollingworth and Dr. Rainer Münz, for their support in the realization of this book project
and Miss Andréia Bracht for her help
drawing the figures and formulas.
In recent decades, renewable raw materials
have become increasingly important, and
this trend continues. This book provides
the basis for a better understanding of this
future top topic. Have fun reading it!
Arno Behr
Thomas Seidensticker
Dortmund, Germany
August 2020
Preface