Antje Potthast

Title

Navigating the Complexity of Cellulose and Lignin

Bio

Professor Antje Potthast is a researcher and educator specializing in the chemistry of renewable resources. She is based at BOKU University in Vienna, Austria, where she co-leads the Institute of Chemistry of Renewable Resources. Her research focuses on the chemistry and analysis of biopolymers, such as cellulose and lignin, and their applications in sustainable materials and processes.

Throughout her career, Antje Potthast has contributed to the development of analytical methods for characterizing complex biopolymers and has collaborated on projects aimed at valorizing renewable resources, also in industry. She is committed to advancing knowledge in her field and supporting the transition to more sustainable practices. She has published more than 400 SCI papers, several book chapters and edited two books.

Abstract

The lecture summarizes recent developments from our lab for the chemical modification and analysis of cellulose and lignin. For the lignin case we are trying to add speed to lignin analysis to allow a higher throughput without compromising accuracy and precision. Complementary to the speed techniques, also recent general developments, such as two-dimensional chromatography systems for the analysis of lignosulfonates or approaches to utilize chemometrics in combination with chromatographic methods, are discussed.

In the case of cellulose, our research oscillates between chemical modifications of pulps, fibers, paper, and historical materials and the development of associated analytical processes in order to better characterize either the material itself or the modification processes. The lecture will illustrate this with selected examples.