Lynd Research Lab: Biochemical Engineering Group

The scope of the biochemical engineering group involves:

• Kinetic and reactor design for biological conversion of cellulosic biomass into ethanol
• Conversion of potential commercial feedstock (e.g., waste paper sludge, biomass pretreated using various processes)
• Process simulations and analysis of mature biomass ethanol technologies
• Scale-up analysis for bioreactors aided by computational fluid dynamics

Recent papers address extending the model of South et al, 1995 to include intermittent feeding, staged reactors, computational fluid dynamics and scale-up (Shao et al, 2009a; Shao et al, 2009b; Shao et al, submitted), and simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation of cellulose and xylose with either mesophilic or thermophilic fermentation (Zhang et al, submitted, Zhang et al, submitted, Podkaminer et al, in preparation).

Several papers have examined the conversion of waste paper sludge into ethanol (Lynd et al, 2001; Fan et al, 2003; Fan et al, 2007a; Fan et al, 2007b), and integrated optimization of pretreatment and subsequent conversion is under way involving several combinations of feedstock, pretreatment, hydrolysis, and fermentation.

The group has significant capability in process simulation for cellulosic biomass conversion and an extensive library of both current and mature technology process models involving production of ethanol, thermochemical fuels (including Fischer-Tropsch liquids, dimethyl ether, and hydrogen), electricity, and/or animal feed. These were prominently featured in a set of papers appearing in a special issue of Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biorefining (Volume 3, Issue 2, Pages 105-288, March/April 2009).

Area Leader: Dr. Xiongjun Shao