Project Highlights
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2,3-Butanediol Separations
Background and Goals 2,3-butanediol (BDO) is gaining attention in the global market as an intermediate product for several applications, such as liquid fuel or as a fuel additive. It can be produced through fermentation in low concentrations (<10 wt%). Therefore, BDO separation/concentration is required for… Read More
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Volatile Products Recovery
Highlights Advanced adsorbent materials enable specific recovery of volatile bioproducts from fermentor off-gas at ambient temperature with minimal water contamination. Efficient mechanical desorption and high material longevity result in predicted cost savings of >20% when compared to conventional condensation and distillation. Context and Goals A… Read More
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Redox-Based Electrochemical Separations
Highlights Electrically driven ion adsorption and recovery was demonstrated for butyrate, a key input for bio-based hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals. Motivation Short-chain carboxylic acids and their derivatives are a platform for the production of bio-based fuels and chemicals. Renewable hydrocarbon biofuels are critically important for… Read More
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Lignin Fractionation and Purification
Highlights Lignin monomer-oligomer separations targeted >90% selectivity. Membranes rejected up to 98.5% of HMW lignin. Up to a 35-fold increase in concentration of LMW products achieved with membranes and RW-EDI. Publications: Y. Lin et al. (2023), ACS Sus. Chem. & Eng. P.O. Read More
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Counter-Current Chromatography (CCC)
Highlights Individual lignin monomers can be separated using CCC. The CCC process is more energy-efficient and economical than Simulated Moving Bed (SMB). Separation Challenges for Lignin Valorization Separation processes, both old and new, depend on mixture physical properties. Accurate and practical physical property models are… Read More