Dr. Richard Venditti’s focus has been in the following research areas: (1) the processing and utilization of natural polymers in new products and fuels, (2) the fundamentals of separation science in fiber processing and (3) the environmental life cycle analysis of products. His approach is to use fundamentals in chemical engineering and polymer science in order to understand mechanisms that control critical operations in the production of products and fuels.

Dr. Venditti graduated from Princeton University in Chemical Engineering in 1993, in the area of thermosetting polymers. He currently teaches Process Control, Unit Operations in Pulp and Paper, and a distance paper recycling graduate course. He is a member of the Technical Association of Pulp and Paper (TAPPI) and the American Chemical Society.

Publications

• Lignin-based thermoplastic materials (2016)
• Life Cycle Assessment of lignin extraction in a softwood kraft pulp mill (2016)
• Use of mechanical refining to improve the production of low-cost sugars from lignocellulosic biomass (2016)
• Environmental LCA and financial analysis to evaluate the feasibility of bio-based sugar feedstock biomass supply globally: Part 1. supply chain analysis (2015)
• enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated newspaper having high lignin content for bioethanol production (2015)
• The NREL biochemical and thermochemical ethanol conversion processes: Financial and environmental analysis comparison (2015)
• Environmental life cycle impacts of cellulosic ethanol in the Southern US produced from loblolly pine, eucalyptus, unmanaged hardwoods, forest residues, and switchgrass using a thermochemical conversion pathway (2015)
• Environmental impacts of bioethanol using the NREL biochemical conversion route: multivariate analysis and single score results (2015)
• UV cross-linkable lignin thermoplastic graft copolymers (2015)
• Melt extrusion of polyethylene nanocomposites reinforced with nanofibrillated cellulose from cotton and wood sources (2015)

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