Department of Chemical Organic Technology and Petrochemistry RCH 5

We are happy to announce that two talented students of our Department of Organic Chemical Technology and Petrochemistry were honored in the prestigious SITPChem Gliwice Branch competition for the Best Diploma Thesis of practical importance in the field of chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Silesian University of Technology!

The 1st degree award was received by Ms. Eng. Kinga Nowak for her thesis entitled "The use of quaternary ammonium and phosphonium bromides in the oxidation processes of alkylaromatic hydrocarbons", supervised by Dr. Eng. Dawid Lisicki. The work included research on the production of (bio)terephthalic acid through aerobic oxidation of cymene, a natural raw material. As part of the work, a new catalytic system was developed based on organic bromides, for which the target product was obtained with the highest efficiency and selectivity from the results described so far in the literature. Moreover, the author proved that the process can be successfully carried out using air as an oxidizing agent, which she confirmed by increasing the scale of the research. The results obtained in this work became the subject of patent application number P.441762. By the decision of the Competition jury, Ms. Kinga Nowak's work was submitted to the Main Board of SITPChem in Warsaw for evaluation in the national edition of the SITPChem Competition.

The 2nd degree Award was won by Ms. Eng. Dagmara Więcławik for the work entitled "Design of active heterogeneous biocatalysts and their use in the synthesis of fine chemicals", supervised by Prof. Ph.D. engineer Anna Chrobok. The topic of the diploma thesis included the development of a highly active and selective biocatalyst based on an immobilized enzyme from the lipase group and its characteristics. The developed biocatalytic system showed activity in the synthesis of biofuel additives using a substrate derived from lignocellulosic biomass. Additionally, the process was carried out in a continuous system, where the described biocatalyst showed high stability. The research carried out by the diploma student is consistent with the topic of green chemistry and sustainable development of the chemical industry.

Congratulations to our talented students on these outstanding achievements! We would also like to thank the supervisors for their support and commitment to supervising the completion of theses.

The award ceremony took place at the headquarters of the Supreme Technical Organization of the Federation of Scientific and Technical Associations of the City Council in Gliwice on January 25, 2024.

We wish our winners further success and fruitful scientific work!