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The Springer book “Production of Materials from Sustainable Biomass Resources” edited by Zhen Fang*, R. L. Smith, Jr., XF Tian, wins  the prestigious ‘Springer-Nature China New Development Awards‘ in 2020. Springer Nature granted China New Development Awards to the Chinese authors of ten scholarly books in recognition of their exceptional contributions to the delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

近日，施普林格·自然（Springer Nature）官宣“2020中国新发展奖” (China New Development Awards)获奖图书，以表彰中国学者对全球可持续发展目标所作出的杰出贡献。由方真，RL Smith和田宵飞编著的专著”Production of Materials from Sustainable Biomass Resources“（《可持续生物质资源生产材料》，2019年Springer出版）获“2020中国新发展奖”。

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“Production of Materials from Sustainable Biomass Resources”

Zhen Fang, Richard Lee Smith Jr, Xiao-Fei Tian

 

We are very honored to receive the Springer Nature: China New Development Awards for Biofuels and Biorefineries, “Production of Materials from Sustainable Biomass Resources,” Series Editor: Zhen Fang and Editors: Zhen Fang, Richard Lee Smith Jr and Xiao-Fei Tian.  This is Volume 9 in the series and presently we have completed 10 volumes with Volume 11 in progress:

Biofuels and Biorefineries Springer Nature Series:

 

1. Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Ionic Liquids, 2014
2. Near-critical and Supercritical Water and Their Applications for Biorefineries, 2014
3. Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Microwave, 2015
4. Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Ultrasound, 2015
5. Production of Hydrogen from Renewable Resources, 2015
6. Production of Biofuels and Chemicals from Lignin 2016
7. Production of Platform Chemicals from Sustainable Resources 2017
8. Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Bifunctional Catalysts 2017
9. Production of Materials from Sustainable Biomass Resources 2019
10. Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Pyrolysis, 2020

In each volume, advances in a technological area as it relates to biofuels and biorefineries are described by world-class researchers in the field.  Each chapter is peer-reviewed and meticulously copy-edited to give Series Readers a polished presentation and Chapter Authors a highly-satisfying product and publishing experience.    

 

Volume 9 is arranged in five parts:

(I) Isolation and Purification of Lignocellulose Components in which products produced from hemicellulose are considered. 

(II) Composite Polymers Derived from Lignin and Cellulose in which production of anti-oxidants from lignin and cellulose or the numerous applications of nanocellulose are considered.

(III) Functional Materials Derived from Cellulose and Lignocelluloses in which the hot topic of biochars is considered with examples in electrochemical capacitors, selective and sustainable catalysts, electrodes and energy devices is considered.

(IV) Biomass Pellets as Fuels in which commercial application of pelletization is considered in power generation scenarios and systems.  Both chemical (fuel value) and mechanical aspects of pelletization are considered.

(V) Biosynthesis of Polymers from Renewable Biomass in which biochemical methods for the production of lactic acid (LA)-based polymers and oligomers is considered.  Of note is the overview on biopolyesters, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and polylactic acid (PLA), since these can be expected to replace petrochemical-derived plastics in the near future.

 

Volume 9 has 12 Chapters:

Chapter 1 summarizes current reports on extraction, purification, chemical com-ponents, structural features, and functional properties of xylan. The preparation of xylan derivatives and xylan-based materials, as well as their potential applications, is discussed. Chemical modifications applied to functionalize xylan, especially to modify its thermo-plasticity, hydrophobicity, conductivity, and stimuli responsiveness, are highlighted. Chapter 2 introduces a detailed literature review on how lignin fits into the growing market for antioxidants, especially as replacements for polyolefins, and discusses hydrolytic depolymerization processes showing how depoly-merization can improve the antioxidant activity of commercial lignin and how the mechanical properties are affected after incorporating lignin into polymer matrices. Chapter 3 focuses on the properties and use of nanocellulose to achieve favorable strength and barrier properties, as well as in coating and paper sheet forming. Chapter 4 describes cellulose derivatization approaches and advanced material designs that have been realized and materials that have potential application in bio-medical areas. Chapter 5 gives a state-of-the-art overview of biochar production, characterization, and applications in nontraditional areas. Potential use of biochar for environmental remediation and for water desalination is demonstrated, as well as sustainable energy applications related to supercapacitors and electrochemical sensors. Chapter 6 covers progress on fabrication of biomass-derived nanostructured carbon materials for use as carbon electrodes. Correlations between carbon structures and electrochemical properties are summarized along with performance aspects. Chapter 7 summarizes the characteristics and properties of biomass-derived catalysts and metal-free functionalized carbocatalysts and shows comparisons to catalysts from other carbon sources and materials. The biomass-derived carbonaceous catalysts used in biodiesel production, gasification, and electro-Fenton oxidation reaction are reviewed. Chapter 8 introduces designs, structural features, and chemical and physical activation of engineered biocarbon-based materials with a focus on the application and performance differences of novel engineered biochars in lithium-ion batteries. Chapter 9 provides a state-of-the-art review of biomass pel-letization on the laboratory, pilot, and industrial scales with particular emphasis on its implementation in power generation. The chapter is rich with examples on the status of large-scale biomass pellets firing and co-firing of worldwide operations. Chapter 10 presents an overview of property differences among biocarbons produced from different thermal processes, including pyrolysis, gasification, and hydrothermal treatment. Of particular importance is the use of biocarbon in the steel industry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Techno-economic and environmental aspects of biocarbon pellet combustion are analyzed. Chapter 11 highlights the effects of the raw materials, binders, pretreatment, and process parameters on pellet design and the pelletization process and includes practical models for development. Mechanical aspects of charcoal and wood pelletization are covered with actual examples that have resulted in commercial materials. Chapter 12 provides opportunities and challenges regarding the production of lactic-acid-based polymers and related oligomer precursors using genetically modified organisms and engineered enzymes. Future developments show the advantages of using biological techniques to replace fossil fuel feedstocks.

 

Acknowledgments

We would like to heartily acknowledge both the many dedicated authors and reviewers, who like ourselves, take great pleasure in developing or helping to develop, scientific works that have clear and lasting value. 

We would also like to acknowledge the support of our Editorial Board members:

Professor Jamal Chaouki, Polytechnique Montréal, Canada;

Professor Liang-shih Fan, Ohio State University, USA;

Professor John R. Grace, University of British Columbia, Canada;

Professor Yonghao Ni, University of New Brunswick, Canada;

Professor Vijaya Raghavan, McGill Univ., Canada;

Professor Norman R. Scott, Cornell University, USA;

Professor Richard L. Smith, Jr., Tohoku University, Japan;

Professor Ying Zheng, Univ. of Edinburgh, UK.

Finally, we would like to thank the Springer-Nature staff, with special mention being given to Ms. Becky Zhao (Senior Editor) and Ms. Abbey Huang (Editorial Assistant) for all of their encouragement, guidance and assistance during our endeavors.  Especially, we are grateful to the many Springer-Nature production staff who have provided us with carefully crafted proofs, valuable suggestions and polish that have made each volumes brightly shine that have lead to  Biofuels and Biorefineries becoming one of the top-tier downloaded Series.

Prof. Z Fang together with other 8 teachers wins 2020 Excellent Teacher Award of NJAU (Nanjing Agricultural University). The award was received from the President of NJAU in the ceremony on teacher’s day (Sep. 10).

方老师与另外8位教师一起获2020南京农业大学优秀教师。9月10日教师节下午，南京农业大学党委书记和校长为获奖老师颁发了证书。

Recently, Prof. Zhen Fang was appointed as Associate Editor of Journal of Renewable Materials (JRM) as announced by Dr. Yingtao Jiang, President of Tech Science Press. JRM is an interdisciplinary journal publishing original research covering all aspects of bio-based materials, sustainable materials, and green chemistry. The scope of the journal is devoted to reports of new and original experimental and theoretical research in the areas of materials, engineering, physics, bioscience, and chemistry, which are related to the critical renewable and recyclable applications. JRM is indexed and abstracted in SCI, Scopus and Ingenta (Q3 in materials sciences, composites).

As an Associate Editor, his major responsibilities include:

1) Submit one original paper or invite one high-quality paper per year,

2) organize regular peer review for manuscripts submitted to JRM per year;

3) organize a special issue composed of five or more papers dealing with a hot topic within the scope of JRM per 2 years.

Prof. Z FANG is/was also serving:

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF （总编辑）:

1. Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries (2012-)
2. Current Chinese Science, Section Energy, Bentham Science Publishers Ltd, United Arab Emirates (11/2019-now)

  ASSOCIATE EDITORS （副编辑）:

1. Biotechnology for Biofuels (http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/about/edboard) (IF  4.8, Q1) (2012-now)
2. The Journal of Supercritical Fluids (IF 3.7, Q2) (02/2018-now)

  EDITORIAL (ADVISORY) BOARD MEMBERS （编委）:

1. Biotechnology for Biofuels (IF 4.8, Q1) (2011-2012)
2. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining (Biofpr) (IF 4.5, Q1) (2012-2018)
3. The Journal of Supercritical Fluids (IF 3.7, Q2) (07/2017-02/2018)
4. Energy, Sustainability and Society (IF 2.0, Q3)  (2011-now)
5. Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening (IF 1.2, Q3) (05/2018-now) (https://benthamscience.com/journal/index.php?journalID=cchts)
6. Energy and Policy Research  (Taylor & Francis) (2016-2018) (http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/uetp21/current)

方老师任《再生材料杂志》副主编

近日，经技术和科学出版社社长Yingtao Jiang博士宣布，方老师被任命为《可再生材料杂志》（JRM）的副主编。JRM是一个跨学科的期刊，出版原创研究，涵盖生物基材料、可持续材料和绿色化学的各个方面。该杂志的范围致力于报道材料、工程、物理、生物科学和化学领域的新的和原创的实验和理论研究，这些领域与关键的可再生和可回收应用有关。JRM在SCI、Scopus和Ingenta（材料科学，复合材料JCR Q3区）中被索引和摘要。

作为副主编，他的主要职责包括：

1） 每年提交一篇原创论文或邀请一篇高质量论文，

2） 每年定期对提交给JRM的稿件进行同行评审；

3） 每两年组织一期专题，由五篇以上的论文组成，涉及JRM范围内的一个热点话题。

校长奖学金：Miss WJ Cong (PhD student) wins President Scholarship of NJAU

Recently, PhD student Miss Wen-jie Cong (supervisor: Prof. Z Fang) has won the prestigious President Scholarship of NJAU in 2020 for her innovative technology on green production of biodiesel after defense among 23 nominees. Each prize winner got 40,000 yuan to finance their schooling for PhD degree.

The President scholarship of Nanjing Agricultural University (NJAU) represents the highest academic honor for postgraduate students. The candidates should have made great achievements in theoretical contributions or application innovations. No more than 10 PhD students (total PhD students in NJAU are about 2000) and 20 master’s students will be awarded every year. After recommendation by experts, preliminary examination and public defense, 8 doctoral students and 20 master candidates won the President scholarship of Nanjing Agricultural University in 2020.

Congratulations!

Related news about her biodiesel green production can be seen at: http://biomass-group.njau.edu.cn/info/1016/1481.htm

博士生丛文杰获校长奖学金

近日，根据南京农业大学2020年度校长奖学金评审标准，生物能源组博士生丛文杰（女）在方老师的指导下，以《以废白土为原料一步法制备生物柴油》的课题及相关成果满足申报条件。该成果在工业制备生物柴油方面不仅具有学术科学性和创新性，且有较高的实际应用价值，并最终获得2020年度南京农业大学校长奖学金。

南京农业大学校长奖学金代表我校研究生奖励项目的最高荣誉，初评条件需满足博士生发表SCI论文单篇IF超过7或累计IF超过15，硕士生发表SCI论文单篇IF超过4或累计IF超过8；每年奖励博士生不超过10人，硕士生不超过20人。本次校长奖评选经专家推介、学院初审、公开答辩等环节，最终8名博士生及20名硕士生候选人荣获2020年度南京农业大学校长奖学金。

我院博士生丛文杰获校长奖学金-南京农业大学工学院新闻网

http://news.pk.njau.edu.cn/info/1003/6070.htm

http://biomass-group.njau.edu.cn/info/1016/1481.htm

相关成果：

1. WJ Cong, YT Wang, H Li, Zhen Fang*, J Sun, HT Liu, JT Liu, S Tang, L Xu. Direct production of biodiesel from waste oils with a strong solid base from alkalized industrial clay ash. Applied Energy, 264,114735 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114735.

2. 方真*，丛文杰，程颖，简天山，左振，李虎，唐松；一种以废白土为原料合成碱催化剂的方法及其用于制备生物柴油；中国发明专利（已受理），申请号：202010111555.9（2020.2.24).

Prof. Zhen Fang was listed in “2019 Most Cited Chinese Researchers” in Energy by Elsevier in 2020. He also won the award in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

方真教授再次入选爱思唯尔“2019年中国高被引学者”榜单

近日，爱思唯尔正式发布“2019年中国高被引学者”榜单，国内共有2163位学者入选，分别来自242个高校或科研机构。在能源领域我院方真教授再次入选该榜单，这也是他本人自2014年来连续六次进入该榜单。

据悉，爱思唯尔中国高被引学者榜单是以Scopus数据库（全球领先的同行评议文摘引文索引库）作为统计来源，基于其客观引用数据对中国研究者在世界范围内的影响力进行系统地分析。“高被引学者”是指作为第一作者和通讯作者发表论文的被引总次数在本学科所有中国（大陆地区）的研究者中处于顶尖水平。入选高被引学者榜单，意味着该学者在其所研究领域具有世界级影响力和拥有国际学术话语权，其科研成果为该领域发展做出了较大贡献。

硕士生答辩：Mr. Sun, Mr. Dong and Miss Dong successfully defended their Master theses

On June 3, 2020, Mr. Jie Sun, Mr. Guo-hua Dong and Miss Qian Dong supervised by Prof. Zhen Fang, successfully defended their theses in A302 Huixia Building, Pukou Campus of Nanjing Agricultural University. The defending committee was composed of Prof. Chun-xia He (chair) from Nanjing Agricultural University, Prof. Hong-mei Jin from Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, associate Prof. Xiao-yu Yong from Nanjing Technology University and associate Prof. Yu-tao Liu from Nanjing Agricultural University.

Mr. Sun, Mr. Dong and Miss Dong presented their research results for Master theses, the committee members raised relevant questions. Based on the replies and theses reviewed, the panel agreed that the three students had successfully completed their research and course requirements on agricultural bio-environment and energy engineering. Mr. Sun studied the hydrothermal gasification of agricultural wastes in subcritical water system with his thesis entitled “Catalytic gasification of lignocellulosic wastes with Ni-Co bimetallic catalysts in subcritical water”. Mr. Dong studied the gasification of cooking wastes with Ni-BN/Al₂O₃ in subcritical water to produce hydrogen with his thesis entitled “Subcritical hydrothermal gasification of cooking wastes with Ni-BN/Al₂O₃ catalyst to produce hydrogen rich gas”. He selected the process conditions for producing hydrogen from cooking waste and achieved the gasification of cooking wastes. Miss Dong studied the pretreatment of cotton stalk with ethylene glycol-chloride salts with her thesis of “Study on enzymatic hydrolysis and saccharification of cotton straw pretreated with ethylene glycol-chloride salts”. She optimized the pretreatment conditions and achieved the cotton stalk efficient saccharification. As first author, Mr. Sun published 1 Journal paper (Q1) and filed 1 invention patent. Mr. Dong co-authored 3 papers and Miss Dong co-authored 6 papers.

After the jury voted by secret ballot, the panel agree to confer Master of Science in Engineering Degree to Mr. Jie Sun, Master of Engineering Degrees to Mr. Guo-hua Dong and Miss Qian Dong, respectively.

Mr. Sun and Mr. Dong got decent job, and Miss Dong continues her PhD study. Congratulations!

2020年6月3日下午，南京农业大学生物能源组2017级工学硕士研究生孙杰（男），2018级工程硕士研究生董国华（男）和董倩（女）毕业答辩会在南京农业大学浦口校区汇贤楼A302举行。南京农业大学的何春霞教授担任答辩评审委员会主席，江苏省农科院的靳红梅研究员，南京工业大学的雍晓雨副教授和南京农业大学的刘玉涛副教授共三位专家担任评审委员。

答辩会上，孙杰，董国华和董倩三位同学分别对各自在校期间学位论文进行汇报，同时答辩委员会主席和各位评委提出了相关问题。根据三位同学问答问题以及学位论文评阅基础上，经过评审决议，专家组一致认为孙杰，董国华和董倩同学顺利完成了农业生物环境与能源方面的研究和学习要求。孙杰同学在毕业论文《亚临界水体系下Ni-Co双金属催化剂对木质纤维素废弃物催化气化研究》中研究了在亚临界水体系下Ni-Co双金属催化剂催化农业废弃物气化，并针对气化的工艺条件进行了筛选，可以达到气化农业废弃物的效果。董国华同学在毕业论文《Ni-BN/Al₂O₃催化餐厨垃圾亚临界水热制氢的研究》中研究了Ni-BN/Al₂O₃在亚临界水中催化餐厨垃圾制氢，针对餐厨垃圾在亚临界水中制氢的工艺条件进行了研究，实现了餐厨垃圾的气化。董倩同学在毕业论文《乙二醇-氯化盐预处理棉花秸秆促进酶解糖化的研究》中研究了乙二醇-氯化盐对棉杆的预处理工艺，针对乙二醇-氯化铁预处理条件进行了优化，实现了棉杆的高效酶解糖化。三位同学在校期间工作努力，其中孙杰同学以第一作者发表Q1区论文1篇，受理专利1项；董国华同学参与发表论文3篇；董倩同学参与发表论文6篇。经评委会无记名投票表决，一致同意通过毕业答辩。

祝贺孙杰、董国华、董倩同学！

Microbial Lipid Production from Both Rice Straw Hydrolysates and Recycled Pretreated Glycerol

Recently, PhD student Mr. Song Tang supervised by Prof. Zhen FANG produced microbial lipid from both rice straw hydrolysates and recycled pretreated glycerol. First, lipid fermentation of glucose via Cryptococcus curvatus was optimized by response surface methodology. Variables were selected by Plackett–Burman design, and optimized by central composite design, achieving 4.9 g/L total lipid and 0.16 g/g lipid yield, and increased further as glucose increased from 30 to 50 g/L. It was found that lipid content rapidly decreased from 44.5% to 6.4% as lignin (0.5 g/L) was added, which would inhibit lipid accumulation for hydrolysate and recycled glycerol. Secondly, these fermentation conditions were further used for rice straw hydrolysates. After glycerol-FeCl₃ pretreatment (0.06 mol/L FeCl₃, 150 °C and 20 min), 72% lignin of rice straw was removed with glucose yield increased by 2.4 times to 74.3% at 20% substrate loading and 3 FPU/g dry substrate. Its hydrolysates were separated for lipid fermentation, producing high total lipid (8.8 g/L) and lipid yield (0.17 g/g). Finally, recycled glycerol reached the maximum total lipid of 7.2 g/L and high lipid yield of 0.16 g/g. Based on the calculation, 2.9 g total lipid would be produced from 1 g rice straw and the recycled glycerol, with a similar composition to soybean oil.

The results were published:

S Tang, Q Dong, Zhen Fang*, WJ Cong, H Zhang, Microbial Lipid Production from Both Rice Straw Hydrolysates and Recycled Pretreated Glycerol, Bioresource Technology, 312, ​123580 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123580.

Microbial lipid production from both rice straw hydrolysates and recycled pretreated glycerol（水稻秸秆经甘油-氯化铁预处理后，酶水解，将秸秆水解产物和预处理液中纯化的甘油作为碳源，通过弯曲隐球菌高效生产油脂。）

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稻秆和废弃甘油发酵生产微生物油脂

 最近，博士生唐松（男）同学在方老师的指导下，利用稻秆水解液和预处理液中纯化的甘油发酵生产微生物油脂。首先，通过响应面优化弯曲隐球菌发酵葡萄糖产油脂，通过Plackett-Burman实验筛选出显著性因素，设计中心组合实验以优化油脂产量，在最佳发酵条件，总油脂量为4.9 g/L，油脂产率达到0.16 g/g，并通过增加葡萄糖浓度以进一步提高了其产油脂量。但在添加木质素(0.5 g/L)后，酵母胞内油脂含量从44.5%迅速降低至6.4%，这表明木质素会抑制胞内油脂的积累。此后，在优化的发酵条件下，利用稻秆水解产物发酵产微生物油脂。通过甘油-氯化铁预处理（150 °C 和 20 min），稻秆中72%木质素被去除，酶解率较未处理前提高了2.4倍。在3 FPU/g干基和20%基质浓度条件下，酶水解72 h后，预处理后稻秆的酶解率高达74.3%。基于响应面优化的最佳葡萄糖产油脂的发酵条件，在将分离的秸秆水解产物作为碳源，产出油脂8.8 g/L，同时油脂产率也达到了0.17 g/g。最后，利用预处理液中纯化的甘油发酵生产微生物油脂，总油脂量最高达到7.2 g/L，并获得了高水平的油脂产率(0.16 g/g)。通过物料质量平衡分析，1 g稻秆及其预处理中所用甘油将产出2​​.9 g油脂，其脂肪酸组成也相似于大豆油。

结果发表在Bioresource Technology:

S Tang, Q Dong, Zhen Fang*, WJ Cong, H Zhang, Microbial Lipid Production from Both Rice Straw Hydrolysates and Recycled Pretreated Glycerol, Bioresource Technology, 312, ​123580 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123580.

Dr. Yi-Tong Wang (Associate Prof. at North China University of Science and Technology in Tangshan) and Prof. Zhen Fang as guest editors for the Special Issue “Catalytic Biomass to Renewable Biofuels and Biomaterials” in Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344) wrote an editorial about catalytic conversions of biomass. Renewable, clean and environmentally friendly biofuels and biomaterials applications are in line with the healthy development of the world’s energy and materials in the future. Biomass as the only renewable carbon source on Earth has been proposed as an ideal alternative to fossil resources and can be catalytically conversed to valuable products, such as hydrolysis of lignocellulosic wastes, synthesis of biodiesel and bioethanol, thermal conversions of biomass and organic wastes. This special issue contains 11 papers (1 review and 10 research articles) contributed by leading experts in the field. The articles include: catalytic conversion of glycerol to acetyl derivatives, base-catalyzed organosoly process to fractionate European larch to recover cellulose and pure lignin, co-pyrolysis of grape seeds and waste tires for bio-oils in a pilot-scale auger reactor with Ca-based catalysts, diesel and jet fuel cycloalkanes produced from cyclopentanone and furfural, macroporous cross-linked copolymers from wheat straw, 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan from hydroxymethylfurfural, N-containing chemicals from polyethylene terephthalate via catalytic fast pyrolysis with ammonia, co-combustion of sludge and wheat straw, biofuels from fermentation of gases by Clostridium carboxidivorans, humic acid-rich composts for applications to catalyzing redox-mediated reactions of pollutants in soils, a review on some organisms such as Clostridium carboxidivorans, C. ragsdalei, and C. ljungdahlii for the production of biofuels (e.g., ethanol and butanol) and chemicals.

These papers should be of interest to professionals in academia and industry who are working in the fields of natural renewable materials, biorefinery of lignocellulose, biofuels and environmental engineering. It can also be used as comprehensive references for university students with backgrounds of catalysis, agricultural engineering, chemical engineering, material science and environmental engineering.

Ref:

YT Wang and Zhen Fang*, Catalytic Biomass to Renewable Biofuels and Biomaterials. Catalysts 2020, 10, 480, https://doi.org/10.3390/catal10050480 .

Subcritical water gasification of lignocellulosic wastes for hydrogen production with CoNi/Al₂O₃

Recently, master student Mr. Jie Sun supervised by Prof. Zhen Fang collaborated with Profs. JA Kozinski at Waterloo and AK Dalai at U of Saskatchewan in Canada, published a research article in J Supercrit Fluids about hydrogen production from lignocellulosic wastes with CoNi/Al₂O₃ catalysts.

Nickel-based catalysts with different supports and cobalt loadings were synthesized for hydrothermal gasification of cellulose 350 ^oC. The activity of Ni catalysts was found in the order of Al₂O₃ > spent bleaching clay ash > SiO₂ with H₂ yield of 80.6%, 69.0% and 57.0% and the prepared catalyst using Al₂O₃ as the support showed the highest catalytic activity to produce H₂. When 6 wt. % Co was added, H₂ yield reached the maximum value of 88.4%, which was 1.44 times than that of 10Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst without adding Co. Catalysts were characterized by NH₃-TPD, TPR, XRD, BET and XPS, showing that Ni-Co alloy formation promoted H₂ production. Furthermore, the effect of parameters such as feedstock usage and residence time were also investigated systematically with 10Ni-6Co/Al₂O₃ catalyst and the results indicated that the optimal yield of H₂ at 94.9% was obtained at the conditions of 0.5g cellulose usage and 20 min residence time. Finally, the study about different lignocellulosic wastes (rice straw, peanut shells and cotton straw) with the increase in H₂ yield by 51.4, 76.0 and 67.8 times and cotton straw obtained the highest H₂ yield of 82.6%. Ni-Co/Al₂O₃ catalysts enhanced hydrothermal gasification of lignocellulosic wastes.

Related results were accepted in J Supercrit Fluids:

J Sun, L Xu, GH Dong, S Nanda, H Li, Zhen Fang*, JA Kozinski, AK Dalai, Subcritical water gasification of lignocellulosic wastes for hydrogen production with Co modified Ni/Al₂O₃ catalysts. J Supercrit Fluids, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.supflu.2020.104863 , 162, 104863, 2020.

Catalytic hydrothermal gasification of cotton straw with H₂ yield of 82.6% over NiCo/Al₂O₃ catalyst at 350 ^oC and 20 min.（NiCo/Al₂O₃催化剂在350 ^oC和20 min条件下催化棉花秸秆水热气化, H₂产率为82.6%。）

CoNi/Al₂O₃催化剂在亚临界水中气化木质纤维素废弃物制氢

最近，硕士生孙杰在方老师的指导下，与加拿大滑铁卢大学JA Kozinski院士和萨斯卡彻温大学AK Dalai院士合作，在国际学术期刊J Supercrit Fluids发表以Co改性Ni/Al₂O₃催化剂从木质纤维素废弃物中制取氢气的研究性论文。

合成了具有不同载体和钴载量的镍基催化剂，用于350 ^oC条件下纤维素的水热气化。 Ni催化剂的活性根据载体来排序依次为Al₂O₃、SBC ash （废白土灰）、SiO₂，对应的H₂产率分别为80.6%，69.0%和57.0%，且以Al₂O₃作为载体制备的催化剂具有最高的产氢催化活性。当Co的负载量为6 wt. %时，H₂产率达到最大值，为88.4％，是不添加Co的10Ni/Al₂O₃催化剂H₂产率的1.44倍。NH₃-TPD，TPR，XRD，BET和XPS等特征分析，表明Ni-Co合金的形成促进了H₂的产生。此外，还以10Ni-6Co/Al₂O₃作为催化剂研究了原料用量和停留时间等参数的影响，结果表明，在纤维素用量和停留时间分别为0.5 g和20 min的条件下，H₂产率进一步提高到94.9％。最后，对不同木质纤维素废弃物（水稻秸秆、花生壳和棉花秸秆）的气化进行了研究，H₂产率分别提高了51.4、76.0和67.8倍，而棉秸秆获得最高的H₂产量为82.6％。 Ni-Co/Al₂O₃催化剂促进了木质纤维素废弃物水热气化产氢。详情可见：

J Sun, L Xu, GH Dong, S Nanda, H Li, Zhen Fang*, JA Kozinski, AK Dalai, Subcritical water gasification of lignocellulosic wastes for hydrogen production with Co modified Ni/Al₂O₃ catalysts. J Supercrit Fluids, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.supflu.2020.104863 , 162, 104863, 2020.

Direct production of biodiesel from waste oils with a strong solid base from alkalized industrial clay ash

Recently, PhD student Miss Wen-jie Cong supervised by Prof. Zhen Fang published a research article in Applied Energy about biodiesel production from high acid (AV) waste oils with a solid base derived from spent bleaching clay (SBC).

Biodiesel was directly one-step produced from waste oils without pretreatment catalyzed by a solid base alkalized from SBC ash. Optimized conditions were obtained with 99.1% biodiesel yield from soybean oil with an orthogonal design. The base catalyst was stable within 8 cycles (> 95% biodiesel yield) and resistant to saponification (AV = 9.7 mg KOH/g, 96.5% biodiesel yield). The base was characterized with XRD, EDX-mapping, FT-IR, XRF and TPD, and it had similar strong basicity to Na₂SiO₃ (0.21 vs. 0.22 mmol/g for Na₂SiO₃) with active sites of Na₂O and CH₃ONa evolved from Na₂SiO₃ and NaAlSiO₄ by reactions of NaOH with oxides (e.g., SiO₂, Al₂O₃) in SBC ash. Furthermore, the base was magnetized with magnetism of 6.86 emu/g by carbonizing residual oil in SBC as carbon support and reductant (of Fe₂O₃ to magnetic Fe₃O₄ particles). It catalyzed soybean oil to produce biodiesel with 99.2% yield and blended oil (AV = 5.9) to biodiesel with 91.9% yield without any saponification. The catalyst was magnetically separated and reused for 3 cycles with 87% yield. The non-magnetic base could also efficiently catalyze actual SBC oil for the production of biodiesel with 95% yield at AV of 10. This work realized the full use of inorganics in SBC, and its oil for direct biodiesel production at a low temperature (i.e., 65 vs. 120 ^oC with sulfuric acid process) without wastes produced and results can easily find practical applications for waste oils.

Related results were accepted in Applied Energy:

WJ Cong, YT Wang, H Li, Zhen Fang*, J Sun, HT Liu, JT Liu, S Tang, L Xu. Direct production of biodiesel from waste oils with a strong solid base from alkalized industrial clay ash. Applied Energy, 264,114735 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114735.

Solid base synthesized from SBC ash for biodiesel production from waste oils with 8 cycles and anti-saponification. It was further magnetized for easy separation.（以废白土为原料合成固体碱，催化废弃油脂制备生物柴油。该催化剂可循环使用8次且可抗皂化，并被进一步磁化为磁性固体催化剂以便于分离。）.

以废白土为原料合成固体碱并用于直接催化废弃油脂制备生物柴油

最近，博士生丛文杰（女）在方老师的指导下，在国际学术期刊Applied Energy（IF8.4，Q1）发表以废白土为原料合成固体碱以制备生物柴油的研究性论文。

通过NaOH碱化废白土灰合成固体碱，直接催化废弃油脂制备生物柴油。首先，以大豆油为原料，通过正交试验确定了最优反应条件（醇油比11:1，催化剂量8 wt%，温度65℃，反应3 h），该条件下生物柴油得率为99.1%，该固体碱8次循环后产率仍高于95%。该固体碱可抗皂化，油脂酸值为9.7 mg KOH/g 时生物柴油产率可达96.5%，催化酸值为10的废白土油可得生物柴油产率为95%。此外，进一步通过碳化废白土中的残油作为碳载体和还原剂（将氧化铁转化为四氧化三铁），磁化为磁性固体碱催化剂（6.86 emu/g）。该磁性固体碱催化大豆油制备生物柴油产率为99.2%，经磁性分离后可重复使用3次（生物柴油产率为87%），催化酸值5.9 mg KOH/g的油脂得生物柴油产率为91.9%且未见皂化。本研究充分利用废白土中的无机物（如二氧化硅、氧化铝等），并实现低温下碱催化一步法转化废白土油为生物柴油。整个生产工艺无废弃物生成，并易于应用于工业生产生物柴油。详情可见：

WJ Cong, YT Wang, H Li, Zhen Fang*, J Sun, HT Liu, JT Liu, S Tang, L Xu. Direct production of biodiesel from waste oils with a strong solid base from alkalized industrial clay ash. Applied Energy, 264,114735 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114735.