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Aqueous Processing Of Lignocellulosic Biomass To Advanced Biofuels | Biological Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering Oct 2016

Aqueous Processing Of Lignocellulosic Biomass To Advanced Biofuels | Biological Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

An important current focus of research in biology, chemistry, engineering, agriculture, and environmental sciences is the development of clean technologies that utilize cellulosic biomass as a renewable resource to the largest extent possible in a biorefinery setting to produce sustainable liquid transportation fuels and chemicals. Of all sustainable resources, only biomass can be transformed into organic fuels and chemicals that can integrate well into our current transportation infrastructure with the inherent convenience, cost, and efficiency advantages of current fuels. Cellulosic biomass can be converted to fuels and chemicals through aqueous-phase processes involving carbohydrates-derived and lignin-derived reactive intermediates deconstructed from these …


Using Elastin-Like Polypeptides For Better Retention Of Biofuels, Yu Hong Wang, Ethan T. Hilman, Kevin V. Solomon Aug 2016

Using Elastin-Like Polypeptides For Better Retention Of Biofuels, Yu Hong Wang, Ethan T. Hilman, Kevin V. Solomon

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) are synthetic molecules that exhibit an interesting property of inverse temperature phase transition; they exist as soluble monomers at low temperatures and form insoluble aggregates at higher temperatures. The transition temperature depends on the pH, salt concentration, and the amino acid sequence of the ELP. This unique and reversible behavior, along with their high biocompatibility has made them a strategic tool for various biomedical applications. However, their hydrophobic properties also make them a prime candidate for biofuel production. As high levels of many commercially important organic solvents are toxic to the cells that make them, ELPs can …