There's a great little revolution underway in the world of chemistry, and its epicenter is a laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Here, a team of scientists has made a discovery that could forever change the way we produce painkillers (and more), fuels, and a host of other essential products. Their intuition? Use the wood of trees, especially poplars, as raw material for highly valuable substances such as paracetamol.
That's not all: their innovative chemical process also allows dyes, adhesives, biodegradable plastics and much more to be obtained from wood. A breakthrough that promises to make these products cheaper, more ecological and less dependent on oil. And which could give new life to the production of biofuels, finally making them competitive with fossil fuels.
From oil to poplar: a new source of paracetamol
Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is one of the most used drugs in the world. It has a global market value of approximately $130 million per year. It is the active ingredient underlying widespread drugs such as Tachipirina, Efferalgan, Tachiflu, Zerinol, Neoborocillina, and abroad Tylenol.
Since its introduction (in the early 900s), this drug has traditionally been produced from coal tar or petroleum derivatives. In 2019, the first signal: Steven Karlen e John Ralph, respectively researcher and professor of biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, showed how paracetamol could be obtained from a compound present in poplars, with a known chemical reaction.
Now Karlen's team has improved the process to produce paracetamol and other painkillers, pigments, fabrics and biodegradable plastics with a cumulative market value of more than 1,5 billion euros. I'll link the search here.
A portfolio of products that, according to Karlen, could support dozens of small biorefineries flowing into larger hubs, without saturating the market.
Once again lignin is the protagonist: a mine of precious compounds
The key to this innovation lies in lignin, the part of the cell wall that binds plant sugars together and provides structure. Lignin, already studied for the production of revolutionary batteries, is rich in valuable aromatic compounds that could replace many petrochemicals and provide biorefineries with additional revenue streams to make plant-based fuels cost-competitive.
The challenge? Break down the complex and irregular chain of molecules into useful components. And now we have discovered that the p-hydroxybenzoate (pHB), a paracetamol-like compound found in poplar lignin, is relatively easy to obtain with chemical treatment.
From a tree painkillers and possibilities
While the initial discovery showed that it was chemically possible to transform pHB into paracetamol, it is also true that the process did not convert enough raw material into the final product.
Now, the researcher Vitaliy Tymokhin found that treating poplar biomass with a different (and cheaper) method converts almost all of the pHB into another chemical that can then be transformed into acetaminophen or a less valuable molecule with other applications.
You can make painkillers, dyes like black ink, polymers that can be used in fabrics or materials, convert it into adhesives or things like that. It has a huge market and great value.
By recycling the unreacted product through a continuous reactor, scientists they managed to convert 90% of the raw material into paracetamol, which they extracted using a more economical method than traditional purification techniques. Karlen says it should be possible to get the yield to 99%.
The process for obtaining painkillers and more from poplars: green and industrializable
The process is primarily water-based, relies on green solvents and is continuous rather than batch, making it ideal for industrial applications. For this reason, it is now already in the process of being patented by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the non-profit organization that commercializes university discoveries to support ongoing research.
What does it mean? It means that we could soon see the birth of a new generation of small biorefineries capable of transforming wood into a myriad of valuable products, creating new jobs and economic opportunities, especially in rural and forestry areas.
Painkillers at the center of a new, delicate green balance
The poplar is a tree with special characteristics that place it at the center of many uses. From textile fibers to furniture, from wood pulp to CO2 sequestration. It grows by one meter per year, it can have a rapid rotation and we do not risk accelerating deforestation by using it also for painkillers.
Of course, the road is still long and not without obstacles. Investments, far-sighted policies and collaboration between research, industry and government will be needed to transform this promising discovery into a widespread reality accessible to all.
The step taken by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison seems to point in the right direction: that of a world in which green chemistry is no longer an exception, but the rule. And there will be pain for oil.
