Shifting society’s dependence on petroleum-based fuels, chemicals, and materials to biomass derived products is important not only to reduce our carbon footprint but also to increase the robustness of our energy security and economic stability. There are emerging needs to address some of the societal and sustainability challenges in the food, energy, and water (FEW) nexus. The research areas we are working on under energy conversion and biosystems engineering are well suited to meet the FEW demands. Aligned with these research priorities, our overarching research goal is to understand and develop novel bioprocesses and models to produce biofuels, bioproducts, and renewable materials by exploring the interface between chemistry, engineering and system biology.
To date, our lab has received >$10M competitive and non-competitive grants from federal, state and local agencies largely in the areas of biofuels and bioproducts, biocatalyst development, and biomass feedstock logistics. Built on those funded projects, we have grown several signature research areas including 1) biomass feedstock logistics and modeling to improve the supply-chain resilience of bioeconomy; 2) data-driven solvent innovation and enzyme engineering for renewable, circular, and low-carbon chemicals and materials; and 3) nanotechnology and fermentation development for food and agriculture applications.
1) Biomass feedstock logistics and modeling towards improving the supply-chain resilience of bioeconomy
Creation of resilient domestic supplement chains for natural sources of raw materials (for example, waste carbon sources, biomass feedstock, and municipal wastes) is critical for the transition from fossil based economy to a more circular bioeconomy to produce sustainable fuels, chemicals, and materials. Significant knowledge gaps exist in understanding and mitigating the variabilities in biomass feedstocks such as composition, structure, chemistry, and inorganics and their impact on biological and thermochemical conversion. Systems based research is needed to correlate biomass chemical characteristics (using advanced analytical tools) to the performance of conversion process and feedstock supply systems. Our group is developing novel predictive models connecting the chemical and physical characterization of biomass-derived feedstocks with efficiencies in biomass conversions. Such models will be integrated and used to develop TEA/LCA guided feedstock preprocessing/variation mitigation strategies. We collaborate with partners at National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Red Rock Biofuels, and Mississippi State University to investigate forest logging residues and municipal solid wastes for thermochemical conversion to sustainable aviation fuels.
2) Data-driven solvent and enzyme innovation for circular and low-carbon chemicals and materials
Great opportunities have emerged for using ionic liquid or deep eutectic systems as solvent, reaction medium and catalyst to enable cost effective and efficient bioprocessing technologies for broad applications. We use molecular dynamics simulation, meta-analysis and machine learning based algorithms to guide the design of solvents with tunable properties for specific applications. Likewise, data-driven enzyme engineering approaches are being explored in my lab including bioprospecting, molecular dynamic simulation of enzyme-solvent interactions, rational design of enzymes, and surface charge engineering. We investigate catalysis and biocatalysis routes in these novel solvent systems for potential applications related to paper and pulping, plastic upcycling, compounds extraction, CO2 capture, bioremediation, and cellulose/lignin derived chemicals and materials. Outcomes from this research area have led to several innovations: 1) recycling & recovery of valuable molecules from fermentation broth and integrated fermentation and separation processes; 2) hydrophobic DES based pulping of hardwood and softwood for improved lignin removal, fiber property, and reduced carbon footprint; 3) recycling critical metals from spent lithium-ion batteries; 4) extraction and detection of micro-, and nano-plastic contaminants from water; and 5) lignin derived nano-composite materials for applications in antimicrobials and energy storage.
3) Nanotechnology and fermentation for food and agricultural applications
The three elements of food-energy-water nexus are interconnected and tied to sustainable agriculture. Overuse and overreliance on synthetic agrochemicals and fertilizers are threatening the environment, the ecosystem, and the sustainability of agriculture. A transition from synthetic to biobased products is a long-term challenge. New bioprocesses are being developed in our lab to convert agricultural wastes to bioproducts for agricultural applications. To achieve that, we investigate interactions between biomass-derived chemicals and nanoparticles and the microbiome in food and agricultural systems and based on the mechanistic understanding of their interactions to formulate novel products such as antimicrobials, biofertilizer, biocontrol agent and crop yield enhancers.
*Our research is supported by the following funding agencies:
