Seminar - David Hodge: Understanding and Enhancing Alkaline and Oxidative Chemical Pretreatments for the Production of Cellulosic Biofuels through Improved Characterization
Date:
Thursday, May 31, 2012 15:00 - 16:00
Duration:
1 Hour
Categories:
Contact info
Hannele Tuominen
Seminar
Speaker:
David Hodge
Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Michigan State University
Title
Understanding and Enhancing Alkaline and Oxidative Chemical Pretreatments for the Production of Cellulosic Biofuels through Improved Characterization
Host: Hannele Tuominen
Place: Seminar room KB3B3 at KBC
Abstract:
This seminar will present recent research on improving technologies for oxidative chemical pretreatments and alkaline fractionation of plant biomass. One theme underlying this research is how improved characterization of the chemical, structural, and physical changes to the plant cell wall and the spectrum of compounds solubilized from the cell wall can better inform technologies for plant cell wall deconstruction and conversion to renewable fuels and chemicals. The work presented on these technologies will span four areas that include: (1) characterizing how lignin properties (S/G ratio, p-hydroxycinnamic acid content, and total lignin content) and their alteration during alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) pretreatment impacts enzymatic digestibility for grasses with diverse lignin phenotypes, (2) characterizing the impacts of pretreatment on the extractability/accessibility of the non-cellulosic polysaccharides in the cell walls of diverse plants using "glycome profiling" or screening a library of 156 monoclonal antibodies against polysaccharide epitopes, (3) identifying the spectrum of fermentation inhibitors generated by AHP pretreatment of grasses for high-sugar concentration fermentation by xylose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and demonstration of improved xylose fermentation and hydrolysate tolerance through evolutionary engineering, and (4) quantifying the impact of AHP pretreatment on plant cell wall water swelling capacity and how the water-cell wall environment influences its susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis.
Speaker:
David Hodge
Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Michigan State University
Title
Understanding and Enhancing Alkaline and Oxidative Chemical Pretreatments for the Production of Cellulosic Biofuels through Improved Characterization
Host: Hannele Tuominen
Place: Seminar room KB3B3 at KBC
Abstract:
This seminar will present recent research on improving technologies for oxidative chemical pretreatments and alkaline fractionation of plant biomass. One theme underlying this research is how improved characterization of the chemical, structural, and physical changes to the plant cell wall and the spectrum of compounds solubilized from the cell wall can better inform technologies for plant cell wall deconstruction and conversion to renewable fuels and chemicals. The work presented on these technologies will span four areas that include: (1) characterizing how lignin properties (S/G ratio, p-hydroxycinnamic acid content, and total lignin content) and their alteration during alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) pretreatment impacts enzymatic digestibility for grasses with diverse lignin phenotypes, (2) characterizing the impacts of pretreatment on the extractability/accessibility of the non-cellulosic polysaccharides in the cell walls of diverse plants using "glycome profiling" or screening a library of 156 monoclonal antibodies against polysaccharide epitopes, (3) identifying the spectrum of fermentation inhibitors generated by AHP pretreatment of grasses for high-sugar concentration fermentation by xylose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and demonstration of improved xylose fermentation and hydrolysate tolerance through evolutionary engineering, and (4) quantifying the impact of AHP pretreatment on plant cell wall water swelling capacity and how the water-cell wall environment influences its susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis.