Hasan Jameel

Our proposal will address all three ICPF priority areas. We will ensure that students learn and perform structural design, prototyping, and techno-economic analysis to understand how design, material types/additives, and processes (analog vs. digital) affects product performances, economics, and sustainability aspect. We will also encourage students to take elective courses in sales and marketing.

We propose an integrated technology of low capital intensity that will capture, utilize and sequester carbon dioxide in wood pulping processes. CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) will be utilized by converting two waste streams to mineral carbonate fertilizer. The carbon in the mineral carbonates is derived from carbon dioxide generated in recovery boilers and lime kilns. Excess carbon dioxide that is not utilized as fertilizer will be pumped deep underground into suitable geological reservoirs for permanent sequestration. Retrofitting lime kilns to oxy-fuel will enable low-cost generation of high purity carbon dioxide. If fully implemented at every large chemical pulp mill in the United States, approximately 14 million metric tons of carbon dioxide will be captured, utilized, and sequestered per year.

The hygiene tissue industry (bath tissue and kitchen towel) is an annual 39 million tons - USD 100 billion - global market with a forecast to grow ~ 3% per year for the next decade [38], [39]. Most hygiene tissue paper grades require the use of both long and short virgin fibers, which provide strength and softness respectively [8]. As an effect of global megatrends, the demand for non-woody biomass for tissue manufacturing will continue to increase [40], and agricultural biomass, which is perceived to be a sustainable option, can be an important source of short fibers for the tissue industry [41]. Therefore, the need to research and create knowledge on the handling and conversion of biomass sorghum and switchgrass to produce sustainable and high-end fiber furnish for the hygiene tissue industry. The proposed feedstock can be established to supply fiber at industrial scale.

The purpose of the Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI) is to develop fundamental and applied research on the use of alternative and sustainable fibers for the manufacturing of market pulp, hygiene products and nonwovens. The idea for SAFI has grown out of societal needs for alternative yet sustainable materials. SAFI will study the potential of alternative fibers based on technical (performance), sustainable and economic principles. This enhancement project aligns with the goals and mission of SAFI and aims to harbor novel genome editing technologies to advance the development of new fiber feedstocks with unique properties to improve pulp production.

The purpose of the Consortium on Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI) is to develop fundamental and applied research on the use of alternative and sustainable fibers for the manufacturing of market pulp, hygiene products and nonwovens. The idea for SAFI has grown out of societal needs for alternative yet sustainable materials. SAFI will study the potential of alternative fibers based on technical (performance), sustainable and economic principles.

InnoSense LLC (ISL), in collaboration with Oklahoma State University North Carolina State University (NCSU), proposes to develop and exploit a consortium of enzymes for the deconstruction lignocellulosic materials toward meeting BER objectives. To support the burgeoning bioeconomy, dedicated energy crops are used as non-food plant biomass and a finite source for the building blocks of biofuels. The biodegradation process of lignin is initiated via a one-electron oxidation of lignin units, mediated by extracellular heme peroxidases such as lignin peroxidase (LiP) and manganese peroxidase (MnP). The arsenal of engineered enzymes such as LiP, MnP, along with lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (AN1602), family 7 cellobiohydrolase (AN0494), endoglucanase (AN1285), beta glucosidase (AN1804), and xylanase (AN1818) will effectively deconstruct lignocellulose. These enzymes are considered to be key players in industrial biocatalysis. Enzymatic deconstruction of lignocellulose facilitates: (1) controlled, (2) predictable, (3) non-toxic, and (4) reproducible conversion of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin into high-yield end products. However, the long-standing battle in the enzymatic conversion of lignocellulose is the unfavorable cost to benefit aspect and the inefficiency in enzymatic deconstruction. NCSU will provide hydrolysates from different biomass that has been well characterized and will also provide the substrate produced from autohydrolyzed biomass. NCSU will also characterize the hydrolyzates. Characterization methods will include wet chemistry methods such as nitrobenzne oxidation, methoxy and catechol analysis, elemental analysis. NMR characterization with phosphorus, carbon and proton NMR will also be conducted. The molecular weight of the samples will also be measured using GPC. DSC and TGA will also be used to measure the thermal properties of the different lignins. Dr. Hasan Jameel will serve as the Principal Investigator for the project. He will coordinate the all activities of the project and will have overall responsibility for management of the data and information. He will also coordinate preparing different kinds of biorefinery lignin and hydrolysates. NCSU will provide his expertise in lignin biorefinery processes and characterization of lignin fractions leading to value-added products. Dr. Hasan Jameel is a recognized expert in the fields of paper mill unit operations, wood and lignin characterization and his industrial engineering experience makes him a valuable contributor for this project.

An ethanologenic, WT, non-GMO strain of yeast from Rayonier will be assessed for viability. If viable, cells will be propagated and cultured for further fermentation work. A multitude of culture tubes will be placed in a -80C freezer for preservation. A liquid sample from an existing pulp mill, termed “liquor”, will be characterized and assessed for biotoxicity. The soluble sugars in the liquor will be fermented to ethanol using RYAM’s yeast strain. If needed, commercially available yeast, such as Ethanol Red, will also be used per RYAM’s instruction. A series of process variables, as prescribed by RYAM, will be assessed to identify optimal parameters for ethanol productivity and yield.

The hygiene tissue industry (bath tissue and kitchen towel) is an annual 39 million tons - USD 100 billion - global market with a forecast to grow ~ 3% per year for the next decade [38], [39]. Most hygiene tissue paper grades require the use of both long and short virgin fibers, which provide strength and softness respectively [8]. As an effect of global megatrends, the demand for non-woody biomass for tissue manufacturing will continue to increase [40], and agricultural biomass, which is perceived to be a sustainable option, can be an important source of short fibers for the tissue industry [41]. Therefore, the need to research and create knowledge on the handling and conversion of biomass sorghum and switchgrass to produce sustainable and high-end fiber furnish for the hygiene tissue industry. The proposed feedstock can be established to supply fiber at industrial scale.

We will improve and validate the critical unit operations needed for producing high-value carbon materials (graphite and hard carbon) used for lithium ion and sodium ion batteries from a faction of the biocrude produced by biomass fast pyrolysis. This work will bring together two innovations, 1) production of high-value carbon materials from the biocrude heavy residues fraction, which are often difficult to convert into biofuels, and 2) process innovations that should lower the costs for producing these high-value carbons. In order to produce high-value carbons, the biocrude residues are sequentially heated to remove volatiles and oxygen, polymerize the biomass carbons into graphene sheets, and in a second step form either highly crystalline graphite or disordered hard carbon. The graphite can be used in as drop-in anode material in existing commercial lithium ion battery (LIB) applications such as portable electronics and electric vehicles (EVs), while the hard carbon can be used in emerging and advancing battery applications, such as sodium ion battery (SIB) for grid electrochemical energy storage and LIB for hybrid batteries in EV with high capacity and good rate capability. The team has demonstrated that both graphite and hard carbon can be produced from pyrolysis biocrudes at laboratory scale and has measured their electrochemical performance in batteries. This work will optimize the range of operating parameters, with a focus on the complex interactions between the chemical changes and the heat and mass transfer characteristics of the reactor and increase the production scale to obtain mass and energy balances that are relevant for modeling commercial potential. The performance of the carbon materials will be evaluated to define their values in commercial systems. Both techno-economics (TEA) and life cycle analysis (LCA) will be performed to understand the economic and environmental impact of the proposed technology. Preliminary revenue analysis suggests diverting 15-25% of the biocrude, essentially all of the heavy and less valuable fraction, into high-value carbons like graphite or hard carbon can significantly improve the profits of a biorefinery and lower the cost of making biofuels. The goal of this project is to optimize and scale-up the process for producing graphite and hard carbon that meet the requirement for LIB and SIB, respectively. Performance specification will be measured, including electrochemical performance under varying conditions (e.g., operating voltage range, current density, and c-rate) using coin-type and pouch cells. We will use a suite of advanced analytical tools to develop a more detailed understanding of 1) how the chemical composition of biocrude and the carbonization process impact the macromolecular ordering of the final products and 2) how the changes in carbon structure influence on the ion storage behavior (e.g., (de)insertion and adsorption/desorption) and subsequent electrochemical performance. In addition to the performance of the carbon materials, we will determine yields in order to close the mass and energy balances of the process. This data will be used to conduct rigorous TEA and LCA models to demonstrate the target FOA metrics such as $3.00/GGE fuel selling price and 60% reduction in emission. Successful completion of the scale up of bio-based graphite and hard carbon production will enable commercialization of these processes and will have an important impact on several sustainable technologies, 1) the low cost biocrude, the bio-based graphite will reduce the cost for LIB that can be used in EVs, 2) the low cost of hard carbon production will enable SIB for energy grid storage and LIB for advanced batteries for EVs, supporting continued growth of PV and wind electricity generation, and 3) commercial production of graphite and hard carbon as biorefinery co-products will improve the overall economics of producing biofuels.

Testing services agreement to produce and evaluate dissolving pulp from old corrugated containers