Vision Statement and Research Summary

Growing concerns over climate change and the desire to stimulate a sustainable economy have renewed the urgency for developing substantial replacement of fossil feedstocks with renewable resources.  Chemical and other commodity industry are gradually shifting from relying on petroleum to lignocellulosic biomass as feedstocks.  To make biorefinery financially attractive, it is critically important to co-produce high-value chemicals and materials in addition to biofuel production.  This lesson is clear from petroleum industry in which petro-based chemical production generates similar cash value to fuel production, while only 16% of crude oil is used for chemical production.

Our research at NC State University covers a broad spectrum of biorefinery development and is focused on the fundamental understanding of lignocellulosic biomass reactivity (effect of biomass chemical and structural properties on conversion process) for both biochemical and thermochemical conversion processes into biofuels, biochemicals, and biomaterials.