For his PhD, Dr Chris Chuck investigated novel catalysts for the production of biodiesel from waste oils. After which Chris switched departments to Mechanical Engineering where he worked closely with the Ford Motor Company and BP on developing renewable biofuel technology, he also oversaw the design and construction of a microalgal bioreactor.

Chris spent the next 18 months running his own consultancy, in which he worked on projects related to renewable bioproducts with a range of companies, the Universities of Exeter, Bath and Bangor and DEFRA.

In September 2010, Chris rejoined the University of Bath as a Knowledge Transfer Fellow, developing catalysts for the production of bioplastics with Purac Biochem. He was awarded a Whorrod Research Fellowship in Sustainable Chemical Technologies in September 2011.

Research

Chris’s group is multidisciplinary and investigates renewable alternative fuels and bioproducts. Within the group both photo-, mixo- and heterotrophic microbes are being investigated for their potential to produce lipids and higher value bioproducts. The aim is to develop this research into a sustainable biorefinery where fuels, chemicals and animal feed can be produced economically without impacting heavily on food and fresh water resources.

Further work is being undertaken into the upgrading of the biomass products by applying alternative chemical methods to fuel synthesis. The resulting liquid fuels address not only the sustainability issues but also the poor performance of current first generation biofuels. The aim of this work is to develop suitable road transportation fuels and biofuels suitable for the aviation industry. To further support this work collaborations are in place with academics in Mechanical Engineering working on fuel combustion and Life Cycle Analysis as well as EADS and the Ford Motor Company.

Further work within the group includes upgrading lignin through catalytic depolymerisation and testing this as a renewable additive.