lignin Archives - ��سԹ�

Indonesian Fulbright Scholar studying how to develop diverse, cost-effective biofuels technology at ��سԹ�, PNNL

Maegan Murray — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 20:01:26 +0000

RICHLAND, Wash. – Fulbright scholar Fitria is using her educational experience at and the to find new and improved ways of creating successful biofuels and bioproducts.

Fitria, a Fulbright Scholar studying at ��سԹ�, is researching pretreatment methods for biofuels that could make them cheaper and more efficient

In her home country of Indonesia, Fitria, who goes by one name, is a team member and former project leader in biomass process technology and bioremediation at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences Research Center for Biomaterials.

There, she works to convert lignocellulosic biomass—the cellulose and lignin-rich substances that give plants their rigidity—from agricultural residues to ethanol and other bioproducts such as wood adhesives, biocomposites, pulp, and paper.

In recent years, the Indonesian government has focused more heavily on the production of biofuels. And while ethanol, which in Indonesia is mostly made from cassava, a starchy root from a tropical crop, is readily available, they are exploring other options, especially lignocellulosic-based biomass from local vegetation. Cellulose from the remains of pressed, harvested oil palm fruit bunches could be a viable option, as Indonesia is the largest producer. Other potential products include rice straw and sugar cane bagasse.

In order to fulfill her career goals, Fitria joined a team led by Bin Yang, associate professor of biological systems engineering at ��سԹ�, in August 2016. Over the past three years, she has worked in the at ��سԹ� to improve the understanding of fundamental mechanisms of pretreatment technologies for cellulosic-based fuels. Her work helps advance cutting–edge biomass conversion technologies and to facilitate the commercialization process.

At ��سԹ�, she is studying several types of lignocellulose biomass, such as corn stover and wheat straw, which are among the most common agricultural waste products in the U.S.

In addition to serving at WSU Tri-CIties, Fitria is also working with Jian Liu, a senior chemical engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to study the impact that mineral components have on the pretreatment process. She will also start as part of the WSU-PNNL Distinguished Graduate Research program this fall.

“Wheat straw is abundant in eastern Washington,” she said. “The remnant material in the harvesting process is usually left on the field, and about 60 percent is used for ground cover. But you can’t remove all of the residue on the field. We want to use the remaining material to make biofuels.”

Fitria is specifically examining how to improve the pretreatment process in turning remnant lignocellulosic materials into biofuels with Yang.

In the early stages, cellulose, which is the main component of cell walls in plants, must undergo a pretreatment process to separate it from other major components, hemicellulose and lignin, to help enzymes convert it to sugar. After that, it is fermented into ethanol. Other components in plants, such as mineral components, however, might hinder this process, which she is now investigating.

Fitria is also working with Jian Liu, a senior chemical engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to study the impact that mineral components have on the pretreatment process. She will also start as part of the this fall. This WSU-PNNL collaboration not only aids in her doctoral study, but also provides her with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory.

“Working at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will be very important to her future research career,” Yang said. “Fitria has displayed remarkable skill in science, engineering and leadership, and she will continue to grow and make significant contributions to the field of biomass to bioproducts.”

Fitria’s research at ��سԹ� is in line with WSU’s identified of providing and in . It is also in line with WSU’s .

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��سԹ� prof receives Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award

Maegan Murray — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 17:12:41 +0000

By Maegan Murray, ��سԹ�

Bin Yang, an associate professor of biological systems engineering at Washington State University Tri-Cities, has been selected for the Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award — the most prestigious appointment in the Fulbright Scholar Program.

Fulbright currently awards approximately 8,000 grants annually. Of those, 40 are selected for the Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award. marks the first professor in WSU history to be selected for the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Energy and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Award.

Beginning in August, he will serve for six months through the Fulbright program at , while on sabbatical leave from WSU. While in Finland, he will teach and conduct research. In addition, he will continue to manage his research team at WSU.

His research at Aalto University will focus on the development of novel lignin-based compounds that do not resemble an existing petroleum-derived compound in structure. Lignin is a material comprised in the cell wall of plants and is one of the largest waste products in the bioproducts industry because it is so hard to break down and process. Yang, however, aims to use the material to create a range of bioproducts.

Yang said he is elated to expand his research and to communicate the scientific achievements of WSU’s Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory (BSEL) in the bioproducts sector, learn more about bioproducts research achievements and processes in Europe, as well as learn about the Finland’s educational structure, which is a world leader.

“I’m excited about the dialogue between our two universities and two countries,” he said. “I believe this outcome will allow me to work with professors and students at Aalto University in order to apply my expertise in bioproducts and biofuels technologies. I am grateful that both Aalto University and WSU are willing and able to accommodate this desire so graciously, and I believe it will work to everyone’s best interests.”

Juming Tang, chair of the biological systems engineering department at WSU, said Yang is an outstanding contributor for the graduate program of biological systems engineering, which is ranked 14^th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.

“Fulbright support will further increase the visibility of our department, BSEL and WSU,” Tang said.

As a Fulbright chair, Yang will address two key challenges:

Developing breakthroughs in science and technologies for production of high-value bioproducts from biomass.
Fostering next-generation leaders on the opportunities, challenges and benefits of biofuels and bioproducts.

Yang has served as a faculty member at WSU since 2009. He has dedicated most of his career to the development of renewable energy technologies, with particular emphasis on production of biofuels and bioproducts from cellulosic biomass feedstocks and other sustainable resources. His major research interests include:

Understanding fundamental mechanisms of bioprocessing technologies for advanced biofuels.
Advancing cutting-edge technologies and facilitating the commercialization process.
Improving knowledge of emerging technologies to meet near- and long-term needs worldwide.

He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters and has five patents. He is a recipient of the DARPA Young Faculty Award of 2011. He also serves as an advisory editor board member for many leading biorefinery journals.

Yang’s research has been supported by the:

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (U.S. Department of Defense).
U.S. Department of Energy.
National Science Foundation.
Sun Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Seattle-based Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation.

He has a joint appointment with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He also serves as a faculty senator and an entrepreneurial faculty ambassador at ��سԹ�.

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WSU professor lands $500,000 grant to pursue lignin to biofuel conversion

Maegan Murray — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 15:15:42 +0000

By Maegan Murray, ��سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – ��سԹ� associate professor Xiao Zhang is targeting the use of lignin — a common material that makes the cell walls of plants rigid — to create affordable biofuels and bioproducts.

Interested in the project, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has granted , an associate professor in WSU’s Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory, $500,000 to complete the research. The laboratory is part of the university’s .

The project will be conducted in partnership with Xuejun Pan, a professor in the department of biological systems engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Lignin is one of the largest renewable carbon sources on Earth. It allows trees to stand, gives vegetables their firmness and makes up about 20-35 percent of the weight of wood. It also is one of the largest remnant products left over in the biofuels creation process.

Zhang and his team will investigate new conversion pathways to produce chemicals and biofuels without completely breaking down lignin into monomers — molecules that can be synthesized into polymers. In addition to its potential cost savings, the process could maximize carbon utilization in the biofuels creation process. It would also provide a profitable use for a waste product.

“We aim at converting lignin into a skeleton that has a similar carbon length in jet fuel range,” Zhang said. “The uniqueness is really targeting a more cost-effective process in taking advantage of the basic lignin structure of characteristics. Unlike many other processes, we don’t have to break down the lignin completely to its monomers.”

Contacts:

Xiao Zhang, WSU Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory associate professor of the Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, 509-372-7647, zhang@wsu.edu

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��سԹ� team earns CleanTech Big Picture prize at UW business competition

Maegan Murray — Sat, 27 May 2017 00:34:45 +0000

By Maegan Murray

RICHLAND, Wash. – A team from Washington State University Tri-Cities took home the Wells Fargo “CleanTech” Big Picture prize during the University of Washington’s Business Plan Competition this week.

With the award, the team, which includes Libing Zhang, a recent doctoral alumna, and Manuel Seubert and Taylor Pate, who are master’s in business administration students, was presented with a $5,000 check.

UW Business Plan Competition – May 2017

“We believe that we performed very well,” Zhang said. “We received extremely positive feedback regarding our business plan and presentation. Each team had a great product and were very convincing. We felt fortunate to be a part of it all.”

The UW Business Plan Competition has awarded more than $1.3 million dollars in seed funding to more than 165 student teams in its 20-year history. The competition started with 82 teams, which was then reduced to 36 teams for the investment round. The teams were then narrowed to the “sweet 16,” which competed this week in Seattle.

The ��سԹ� team presented the process of taking lignin — a waste product in the cellulosic ethanol biorefineries and the pulping process — one of the most abundant renewable carbon sources on earth, and turning it into an environmentally friendly, cheap jet fuel. The process could potentially reduce the carbon emissions for commercial airlines. The technology was developed by professor Bin Yang’s lab in the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory.

The competition featured a 15-minute presentation by each team to judges including University of Washington faculty, investors and local business owners and leaders. The teams then participated in a question and answer session with the panel of professionals.

“It is a great accomplishment and is really a tribute to the research that made it all possible,” Seubert said about the team’s success in the competition. “Our goal as a company is to implement this technology within the aviation industry and reduce global carbon emissions.”

The team has been accepted into the Cascadia CleanTech accelerator program, which is a 14-week program that delivers mentorship, curriculum, connections and funding opportunities designed specifically for early-stage cleantech startups. The goal of the program is to accelerate startup businesses.

“We are optimistic that we can finalize a partnership with Washington State University for this technology,” Pate said. “There is a significant amount of momentum behind Lignin Biojet and we hope to carry that forward as we move into the next phase of the company’s growth.”

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��سԹ� team advances to ‘sweet 16’ at business competition

Maegan Murray — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 17:41:12 +0000

RICHLAND, Wash. – A team from Washington State University Tri-Cities whose business plan is to commercialize a WSU-patented jet fuel technology developed by ��سԹ� professor Bin Yang’s lab has advanced to the University of Washington Business Plan Competition’s “sweet 16” round.

��سԹ�’ Libing Zhang presents during the UW Business Plan Competition

According to the university website, the goal of the UW Business Plan Competition is to promote student ideas and new venture creation and provide an opportunity for business and science students to present new business plans to Seattle-area venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and investors.

The team, composed of Libing Zhang, a recent doctoral alumna, and master’s in business administration students Manuel Seubert and Taylor Pate, presented the process of taking lignin, a waste product in the cellulosic ethanol biorefineries and pulping process that is considered one of the most abundant renewable carbon sources on Earth, and turning it into an environmentally-friendly, cheap jet fuel that can potentially reduce the carbon emissions for commercial airlines.

The ��سԹ� team advanced from an initial pool of 82 teams in the screening round of the competition, which was then narrowed to a pool of 36 teams in the investment round before the team advanced to the sweet 16. During the investment round, each team had approximately four hours of face time with entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capitalists and competition alumni from the Seattle area.

Last month, the same ��سԹ� team placed third at the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge. Zhang is also the entrepreneurial lead on a National Science Foundation I-Corps lignin-to-biojetfuel project, which was awarded to Yang and his team.

Paul Skilton, ��سԹ� associate professor of management, and Yang are advisers for the ��سԹ� team.

The sweet 16 round of the UW Business Plan Competition kicks off May 25, followed by the final round that afternoon. The final round is open to the public. Prizes will be awarded later that evening at the competition dinner at MOHAI in South Lake Union.

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Team takes third at Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge

Maegan Murray — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 23:16:03 +0000

By Maegan Murray, ��سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – A team from Washington State University Tri-Cities took third place among 21 teams at the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge’s finals this week for their creation and business model presentation of a technology that converts lignin, a natural byproduct of plant-based materials, into biojet fuel.

Photo courtesy: Matt Hagen / UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship
Libing Zhang talks with people at the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge.

During the challenge, interdisciplinary student teams define an environmental problem, develop a solution, design and build a prototype, create a business plan that proves their solution has market potential and pitches their idea to 170 judges from throughout the Northwest who have expertise in cleantech, as well as to entrepreneurs and inventors, at a demo-day event.

The ��سԹ� team, composed of postdoctoral researcher Libing Zhang and Manuel Seubert, a master’s in business administration student, advanced to the finals from an initial pool of 29 teams during the first round of the competition.

Paul Skilton, ��سԹ� associate professor of management, and Bin Yang, ��سԹ� associate professor of biological systems engineering, advised the team. The ��سԹ� team also worked regularly with researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to prepare for the competition.

The team was presented with the Starbucks $5,000 prize for their third-place ranking in the final round of the competition.

Advancing biofuels

Zhang, team leader for the challenge, said the main benefits for their technology is that it takes lignin, a waste

Photo courtesy: Matt Hagen / UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship
Manuel Seubert presents at the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge.

product in the biorefineries and pulping process that is considered one of the most abundant renewable carbon sources on Earth, and turns it into an environmentally-friendly, cheap jet fuel that can potentially reduce the carbon emissions for commercial airlines.

“I see several advantages of the technology and hope we can scale it up for commercialization, which will help commercial airlines to achieve their goals in reducing greenhouse emissions,” she said.

Developing a commercial product

Seubert, team co-leader for the challenge, said their goal with the competition was to capture people’s attention for the value of their technology, while using the experience as a learning opportunity for their future in developing the lignin-based jet fuel product into a commercial business.

“The next challenge is to secure funding so that we can scale it up to an industrial scale,” he said. “We are

Photo courtesy: Matt Hagen / UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship
Libing Zhang displays a container of lignin

actively looking for funding sources at this point and are thinking about establishing a limited liability company, which will allow us to pursue small business grants.”

Zhang said raising awareness about the product was a crucial part of the competition experience.

“We want people to know that the technology for converting lignin to biojet fuel has a commercial value,” she said. “It is encouraging knowing that people care about the technology and see its potential for reducing the carbon footprint. Now, we hope to take the technology to the next level in the business world.”

Zhang is also the entrepreneurial lead on a National Science Foundation I-Corps lignin-to-biojetfuel project, which was awarded to Yang and his team.

Skilton said the project represents an excellence illustration of the cutting-edge, hands-on programming students experience at ��سԹ�.

“This is an example of the kind of integrated project team work our MBA students come to ��سԹ� to do,” he said.

The Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge is the creation of the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship in the Foster School of Business, in partnership with the University of Washington’s College of Engineering, College of the Environment, Clean Energy Institute, College of Built Environments and the Department of Biology.

Contacts:

Libing Zhang, ��سԹ� recent doctoral graduate and postdoctoral researcher, libing.zhang@wsu.edu

Manuel Seubert, ��سԹ� master’s in business administration student, manuel.seubert@wsu.edu

Maegan Murray, ��سԹ� public relations specialist, 509-372-7333, maegan.murray@tricity.wsu.edu

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lignin Archives - ���سԹ�

Indonesian Fulbright Scholar studying how to develop diverse, cost-effective biofuels technology at ���سԹ�, PNNL

���سԹ� prof receives Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award

WSU professor lands $500,000 grant to pursue lignin to biofuel conversion

Contacts:

���سԹ� team earns CleanTech Big Picture prize at UW business competition

���سԹ� team advances to ‘sweet 16’ at business competition

Team takes third at Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge

lignin Archives - ��سԹ�

Indonesian Fulbright Scholar studying how to develop diverse, cost-effective biofuels technology at ��سԹ�, PNNL

��سԹ� prof receives Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award

��سԹ� team earns CleanTech Big Picture prize at UW business competition

��سԹ� team advances to ‘sweet 16’ at business competition