Dr. Eric Tan is a senior biorefinery and sustainability analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, USA. He is an experienced senior research engineer with an extensive history of working in the research industry.
Dr. Tan brought to NREL over ten years of industrial experience, including the design and development of engineered nano-structural materials, industrial fuel processing technology, hydrogen production processes, and commercial fuel cell systems. His research interests and experiences include sustainable process design, biofuels, renewable chemicals, heterogeneous catalysis, carbon economy, circular economy, techno-economic analysis, sustainability, and life-cycle assessment (LCA).
At NREL, Dr. Tan plays a key role in the conceptual process design and assessment of various biomass conversion pathways to produce infrastructure-compatible, cost-competitive liquid hydrocarbon fuels from lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks. As an expert in biorefinery and sustainability analysis, he has co-authored nearly 70 peer-reviewed journal publications (including Science and Nature Catalysis), conference proceedings, book chapters, and public technical reports, as well as over 70 national and international conference presentations.
Dr. Tan is a senior member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and is a technical advisor of the AIChE’s Sustainable Engineering Forum Leadership Team. He actively serves as the Sustainable Biorefinery Area Chair and is the chair of numerous technical sessions. He is also an American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA) certified LCA Professional and holds both a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Akron and a professional graduate certificate in Corporate Sustainability and Innovation from Harvard University Extension School.