Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts

08/26/2022

The Auburn University Bioenergy Center is receiving $1.6 million to research on hydrogen production. We are excited about the opportunity.

Selected projects will develop methods for producing hydrogen from sustainably sourced biomass, natural gas, waste coal, plastics, and municipal solid waste, and conduct front-end engineering design studies to develop carbon capture approaches.

07/27/2022

Please check out our recent publication on biofuel production from co-blending of biocrude from algal biomass and carinata oil using conventional and biochar supported catalysts.

The performance of cobalt-molybdenum (CoMo) on hydrotreating of algae HTL biocrude and carinata oil was investigated. Commercial CoMo/Al2O3 (CoMo/Al) …

12/17/2021

We recently published a paper related to hydrotreating non-edible oil, carinata, for the production of transportation fuels. If you are interested to read more about the work, you can use the link below for free access until Feb 05, 2022.

Biochar-supported catalysts were developed from nickel (Ni) - and cobalt (Co)- nitrates and hydroxides and tested for the hydrotreatment of carinata o…

12/08/2021

Auburn University researchers are seeking to make strides in future manufacturing, including homes constructed via 3D printing through partnership with researchers at University of Idaho. The project is supported by the National Science Foundation.

Home » Auburn University researchers part of interdisciplinary team seeking to make strides in future manufacturing, including homes constructed via 3D printing

12/08/2021

Auburn biosystems engineering project receives $700k in ADECA funding

An Auburn biosystems engineering project will look into converting forest biomass and plastic waste into transportation fuels with award funding from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

09/24/2021

Our recent work on producing biolubricants from waste cooking oil has been published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. Dr. Hossein Jahromi led this work, and I would like to thank all the co-authors in this article. I am very proud of the contribution made by our undergraduate student, Madison Shelley.

If you are interested in reading this article, you can click the link below.

The present research and development for lubricant production from vegetable oils rely on traditional (trans)esterification, etherification, and/or chemical modifications of triglycerides and free fatty acids (FFAs). However, the final products suffer from at least one of the following: poor low-tem...

08/31/2021

Biochar has numerous applications and a potential to capture carbon while improving the health of soil. It is going to be one of the tools to make bioenergy technologies carbon negative. We attempted to test biochar for phenolics removal from the aqueous phase of municipal sludge liquefaction. Our previous studies have shown that it is important to remove phenolics from the aqueous phase for producing methane. This work was a result of hard-working graduate and undergraduate students and post-docs. If you are interested in reading the article, it is available for free until October 20, 2021 through the link below.

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1dgFTAOM9vqGz

08/01/2021

Faculty team aims to reduce greenhouse gas with hydrogen energy research

An interdisciplinary faculty team is researching hydrogen energy production that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste plastics problems with a

09/24/2020

We have been working on the hydrothermal liquefaction of municipal sludge for energy production. Biocrude (bottom phase) is being upgraded for biofuels, whereas the aqueous phase can be used for additional energy recovery using anaerobic digestion after some detoxification. We are trying to maximize carbon recovery. Let us know if you are working on this topic and what your plans are. P.C. Tawsif Rahman.

07/27/2020

Here is a talk from one of our faculty members.

Brendan Higgins, assistant professor of biosystems engineering, is doing his part to make sure nothing in this world goes to waste — not even waste.

02/09/2020

Finding use of waste has become very important. Here you can learn about converting waste to energy. Our own Dr. Sushil Adhikari has talked to the CNBC reporter. His clip is at 2:43 and 14:49 min.

Turning waste into energy has usually meant incineration - that is, burning our trash. But this method has major environmental drawbacks. Gasification could be a better alternative. It's an old technology that proponents hope to repurpose as a cleaner and more economical waste-to-energy solution, an...

11/08/2019

Three students presented their work at the Engineering Research Showcase yesterday. Sanjita Wasti is working to make biobased filaments from lignin, Vivek is working on depolymerization of lignin and Tope is working on producing biocrude from municipal sludge.