Project Title: ECO-CBET: Collaborative Research: Coupled homogeneous and heterogeneous processes for an environmentally sustainable lignin-first biorefinery
Funded By: National Science Foundation (NSF)
PI: Dr. Andreas Heyden
Co-PIs: Dr. Salai Ammal (UofSC); Dr. Nicole Berge (UofSC); Dr. Gabriel Terejanu (UNC-Charlotte); Dr. Will Medlin (U of Colorado, Boulder); Dr. Gregg Beckham (NREL)
Dr. Berge is part of a that focuses on understanding the coupled homogeneous and heterogenous processes occurring during conversion of lignin model compounds to ultimately improve the environmental sustainability and profitability of a wood biorefinery. Dr. Berge’s role on this project is to create a systems-level model of a lignin-first biorefinery and perform several life cycle assessment (LCA) simulations to understand the impact of changes in reaction conditions and the corresponding change in delignification rate on the environmental and economic sustainability of a biorefinery. A technoeconomic analysis will also be conducted and integrated with the LCA to allow for simultaneous economic and environmental evaluation of the system.
More information can be found at: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2218938&HistoricalAwards=false