(6ku) Novel Approaches to Biomass Upgrading for a More Sustainable Chemical Industry

Biomass, particularly forest products, constitute one of the most plentiful sources of renewable carbon. Despite the high interest, many challenges remain for biomass to replace petroleum as the dominant source of fuels and chemicals. One of these challenges is the inherent complexity and diversity of the naturally occurring feedstock, which will require additional processing necessary to produce a uniform product. As such, advances in reaction engineering, process intensification, and novel applications and materials are necessary to make the fractionation, depolymerization, and valorization of lignocellulosic biomass efficient and economically viable. From this, I have identified three primary research interests: (1) the design of novel reactor/analytical methods for probing the fundamental reactions occurring during catalytic reactions with biopolymers and biomass derived chemicals, (2) the engineering of reactor systems that allow for process intensification for more efficient upgrading, and (3) the design and production of new base chemicals and materials that take advantage of the inherent functionality of biomass derived compounds.

My current research experience focuses broadly around the valorization of lignin (one of three main biopolymers of woody biomass, along with cellulose and hemicellulose). This includes a study on the impacts that industrially relevant isolation methods have on the structure of the polymer. More core to my Ph.D. thesis, I have studied the fundamentals and applications of mechanocatalysis for lignin depolymerization. These reactor systems use mechanical energy (e.g. collisions in a ball mill) to drive catalytic reactions. The appeal of these systems is their ability to perform reactions without solvents, operate under ambient conditions, and be implemented industrially with minimal infrastructure. Fundamental studies have focused on modeling reactive conditions in a ball mill reactor as well as understanding the transformation of the catalyst during ammonia synthesis. Using mechanocatalysis in a more applied setting, I have focused on studying various reaction systems for solvent free lignin depolymerization and product upgrading.

Teaching Interests:

Over the course of my research as a graduate student, I have mentored an undergraduate student and a master’s students. While this number is on the low side, working so closely with them, somewhat paradoxically, allowed them to work much more independently. Each had a well-defined project which they largely directed themselves, and when they did need my input and guidance, I was able to provide the highest levels of my attention. The projects these two have worked on have have resulted in paper being submitted and a communication in the works. Both students are on their way to being Ph.D. candidates and conducting their independent research. This experience and the success of these two students have highlighted the importance creating a framework that lets students teach themselves. I plan to take this revelation with me, as a professor, when I will be designing my own courses and instructing Ph.D. students in my lab.