(2ap) Biofuels, Biolubricants, and Biomaterials from Biomass and Energy-Efficient Ultrasonic Separation for the Sustainability and Decarbonization

My primary research goals are focused on the sustainability and renewability of energy and materials. First, I can develop a platform for the separation/purification of aqueous solutions or organic solutions through ultrasound-mediated processes, such as acetone/ethanol/butanol fermentation broth separation. Now, I am collaborating with AIChE RAPID Institute, the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign (UIUC), North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University (NCAT), and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to submit the full proposal for ultrasonic separation for bioethanol purification and sugar concentrating on replacing the distillation and evaporation process. Compared to traditional distillation, the ultrasound-mediated process can improve by over 50% of energy efficiency and break the azeotropic point bottlenecks. Since the heterogeneity of biomass inhibits the development of bioeconomy, it must be solved to make uniform chemicals, such as sugars (glucose & xylose), for the subsequent bioproduction. I collaborate with Dynaflow, LBNL, and RAPID to propose the application of hydrodynamic cavitation to convert biomass to sugars without adding chemicals or other components to Schmidt Fund. I also work with John Deere to develop biofuels for the diesel engine. I have also submitted the full proposal to Indiana Soybean Alliance for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production from soybean oxidation with ultrasound hydrogenation and biopolymers from soybean oxidation production and glycerin from biodiesel production.

Moreover, I will apply ultrasound technology in chemicals/materials synthesis from renewable materials as ultrasound can improve the mass transfer during the reactions. In addition, I will scale these technologies from the lab to the pilot plant. Ultimately, these can be commercialized with the cooperation of industrial partners. I have built collaboration relationships in academia (Purdue, UIUC, NCAT), industry (John Deere, Heartland Food Products, Bioenergy development groups, Dynaflow, etc.), national labs (LBNL ), and AIChE Rapid Institute.

Teaching Interests

Besides succeeding in research (publications, patents, copyrights, and software), I was fortunate to gain teaching experience in academic and industrial fields. I was a mentor, guest lecturer, teaching assistant, and trainer. I was a TA for ABE 301 and 370 as a graduate student in ABE. In addition, I have been the lecturer for ABE 301 and 202 since the spring of 2022. I want to apply my academic and industrial knowledge and experience to increase students' chances of success. Now, I am one member of the course reforming committee for biological engineering at the ABE Department.

My teaching style consists of honesty, students' roles, grade policy, goal, misconceptions, and the relationship between instructor and students. Both the teacher and the student are asked to be honest. The teacher should be honest in teaching and grading, and the students should not cheat in homework, quiz, exam, and report. Teaching is not only the responsibility of the teacher but also of the students. The students should play actively in teaching. A clear policy is essential and should be given in the first class. When the students take the class, they should have expected scores for the course. A clear grade policy can help them to achieve their aim effectively. The goal is to check the understanding extent of the course. The challenging and feasible homework, quizzes, and exams can reflect the actual understanding extent of the course better than simple or challenging ones. Don't hesitate to change the misconceptions. Once you find it, you should correct it as soon as possible. The teacher should respect the students' goals and needs and help them achieve those feasible.

I am actively interested in teaching chemical reaction engineering classes, reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, physical chemistry, catalyst, biofuels, etc.