博士生答辩Mr. Song Tang successfully defended his doctoral dissertation

12月 3rd, 2020

博士生答辩Mr. Song Tang successfully defended his doctoral dissertation

Started from 2:30 pm December 2, 2020, Mr. Song Tang supervised by Prof. Zhen Fang successfully defended his dissertation at A105 Huixian Building, Pukou Campus of Nanjing Agricultural University. The defending committee was composed of Prof. Qiang Yong (Chair) from Nanjing Forestry University, Prof. Xiao-mei Ye from Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Prof. Jun Zhou from Nanjing Tech University, Profs. Chang-ying Ji, Chun-xia He and Kun-quan Li from Nanjing Agricultural University.

All the members of the panel attended the doctoral dissertation defence meeting in-person, listened to the presentation, raised corresponding questions and reviewed the replies and relevant documents. Mr. Tang studied the production of microbial lipid from rice straw with dissertation entitled “Study on microbial lipid production from rice straw pretreated with polyalcohols and chlorides”. He significantly improved the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of rice straw pretreated by polyalcohols (ethylene glycol and glycerol) and chlorides (aluminum chloride and ferric chloride), and realized the efficient production of lipid from the pretreated straw hydrolysates. He worked hard and published 3 academic papers. After discussion, the panel agreed that Mr. Tang had successfully completed his research and course requirements on agricultural bio-environment and energy engineering, voted by secret ballot and decided to confer Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering to Mr. Song Tang subjected to the approval by the Academic Degrees Committees of the college and university.

Mr. Tang got a decent faculty position in a university near Nanjing.

Congratulations!

生物能源组博士研究生唐松顺利通过毕业答辩

2020年12月2日下午,南京农业大学生物能源组2017级博士研究生唐松(男)(导师方老师)毕业答辩会在南京农业大学浦口校区汇贤楼A105举行。南京林业大学的勇强教授担任答辩评审委员会主席,江苏省农科院的叶小梅研究员,南京工业大学的周俊教授,南京农业大学的姬长英教授,何春霞教授和李坤权教授共六位专家担任评审委员。

答辩会上,唐松同学对其在校期间的学术论文进行汇报,同时答辩委员会主席和各位评委提出了相关问题。根据唐松同学的问题回答以及学位论文的评阅,评委会经过评审决议,一致认为唐松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。唐松同学在毕业论文《多元醇和氯化物预处理水稻秸秆发酵产微生物油脂的研究》中研究了多元醇(乙二醇或甘油)和氯化物(氯化铝或氯化铁)组合常压预处理水稻秸秆,实现了木质纤维素组分的高效分离,有效提高了稻秆在低酶载量、高底物浓度下的酶水解效率,并将水解获得的可发酵性碳源用于发酵产微生物油脂,实现了水稻秸秆制备微生物油脂的高效生产。唐松同学在校期间工作努力,共发表学术论文3篇。经评委会无记名投票表决,一致同意通过博士学位论文答辩,建议授予工学博士学位。

祝贺唐松同学!

糠醛制液体燃料:Production of liquid fuel intermediates from furfural

12月 1st, 2020

Production of liquid fuel intermediates from furfural via aldol condensation over La2O2CO3-ZnO-Al2O3 catalyst

Recently, master student Mr. Xiao-jie Wei supervised by Dr. Xiao Kong and Prof. Zhen Fang published a research article in Catalysis Communications about Production of liquid fuel intermediates from furfural.

Aldol condensation of furfural with acetone over basic catalysts allows the production of furanic adducts 4-(2-furyl)-3-buten-2-one (FAc, C8) and 1,5-di-2-furanyl-1,4-pentadien-3-one (F2Ac, C13)) that can be transformed into high-quality diesel fuels by further hydrogenation. However, the development of efficient basic catalysts and understanding of role of basic sites with different strength are still required. In this work, monoclinic and hexagonal La2O2CO3 promoted ZnO-Al2O3 catalysts were synthesized with higher concentration of medium strength basic sites and better catalytic performance as compared with La2O3 and ZnO-Al2O3. This work demonstrated that the medium strength basic sites were especially active for aldol condensation reactions.

Related results were published:

X Kong, XJ Wei, Zhe Fang*, LP Li, and HW Lei, Production of Liquid Fuel Intermediates from Furfural via Aldol Condensation over La2O2CO3-ZnO-Al2O3 Catalyst, Catalysis Communications, 149, 106207 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catcom.2020.106207.

Reaction route for aldol condensation of furfural and acetone(糠醛与丙酮的醛醇缩合反应路线)

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La2O2CO3-ZnO-Al2O3催化醛醇缩合糠醛生产液体燃料中间体

最近,孔晓博士和硕士生魏孝捷在方老师的指导下,在国际学术期刊Catalysis Communications(IF3.6,Q2)发表以糠醛为原料通过醛醇缩合以制备液体燃料中间体的研究性论文。

在碱性催化剂上糠醛与丙酮的醛醇缩合反应可制得呋喃加合物4-(2-呋喃基)-3-丁烯-2-酮(FAc,C8)和1,5-二-2-呋喃基-1,4- 戊二烯-3-酮(F2Ac,C13),可通过进一步加氢转化为优质柴油燃料。 但是,仍然需要开发有效的碱性催化剂并了解具有不同强度的碱性位点的作用。 在这项工作中,与La2O3和ZnO-Al2O3相比,合成了单斜晶和六角形La2O2CO3促进的ZnO-Al2O3催化剂,具有较高浓度的中等强度碱性位点和更好的催化性能。 这项工作表明中等强度的碱性位点对于醛醇缩合反应特别活跃。并为从农作物秸秆(其中的半纤维素可水解和脱水生产糠醛,纤维素可水解为糖再发酵为丙酮)制备液体燃料提供了可行的化学转化方案。

详情可见:

X Kong, XJ Wei, Zhe Fang*, LP Li, and HW Lei, Production of Liquid Fuel Intermediates from Furfural via Aldol Condensation over La2O2CO3-ZnO-Al2O3 Catalyst, Catalysis Communications, 149, 106207 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catcom.2020.106207.

热解产芳香胺: Aromatic amines from pyrolysis of lignin and phenol-formaldehyde resins

10月 25th, 2020

Recently, Dr. Lujiang Xu together with Prof. Zhen Fang published a paper in “Bioresource Technology” about the production of aromatic amines from phenol-formaldehyde resins and lignin via co-catalytic pyrolysis with ammonia process.

Aromatic amines could be produced from organic wastes via catalytic pyrolysis with ammonia that served not only as a carrier gas but also as a reactant. Aromatic amines of 14.2 C% with selectivity of 57.6 % were obtained from phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins via pyrolysis over commercial HZSM-5-3 zeolite (Si/Al ratio of 80) catalyst at 650 °C. Significant synergetic effects have been observed when lignin was added, which improved aromatic amines yield by 32.2 % to 11.8 C% at the mixing weight ratio of lignin to PF resins of 1:1. HZSM-5-3 was slightly deactivated after 3 cycles with acid sites loss. Catalytic co-pyrolysis of plastics and biomass wastes is a fast and effective method to produce aromatic amines.

Aromatic amines was produced from PF resins with 14.2 C% yield and 58% selectivity. Co-pyrolysis was effectively enhance aromatic amines yield by 32.2%. (酚醛树脂通过氨气氛围催化热解可以生产14.2%碳产率的芳香胺;与木质素共热解,酚醛树脂可以提高芳香胺产率32%)

Related results were published in Bioresource Technology:

Lujiang Xu, Zijian He, Huan Zhang, Shenghong Wu, Chengyu Dong, Zhen Fang*, Production of aromatic amines via catalytic co-pyrolysis of lignin and phenol-formaldehyde resins with ammonia over commercial HZSM-5 zeolites, Bioresource Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.124252  (Oct. 2020) (Article).

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徐禄江博士在国际学术期刊Bioresource Technology发表学术论文

氨气氛围催化共热解木质素和酚醛树脂制备芳香胺化合物

最近,农业工程TOP期刊Bioresource Technology(影响因子7.54, Q1,第一署名单位为南京农业大学,第一作者为徐禄江博士,通讯作者为方真教授)发表了废弃塑料酚醛树脂和木质素通过氨气氛围催化热解的方式生产芳香胺的文章。

芳香胺(如苯胺等)是一类重要的大宗化工原料。利用氨作为载气和反应气体,通过催化裂解的方法转化有机废物(酚醛树脂和木质素)生产芳香胺。以工业用HZSM-5-3(Si/Al=80)沸石分子筛为催化剂在650℃高温下裂解酚醛树脂,可以得到了14.2 C%的芳香胺,且产物中芳香胺选择性达到57.6%。当木质素与酚醛树脂的混合重量比为1:1时,添加酚醛树脂可使芳香胺的产率提高32.2%。催化剂在3个循环后由于酸位点损失导致略有失活。由此可见,氨气氛围下的废弃塑料与木质素废料催化共热解也是一种可以快速制备芳香族胺的有效方法。

详情可见:

Lujiang Xu, Zijian He, Huan Zhang, Shenghong Wu, Chengyu Dong, Zhen Fang*, Production of aromatic amines via catalytic co-pyrolysis of lignin and phenol-formaldehyde resins with ammonia over commercial HZSM-5 zeolites, Bioresource Technology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.124252  (Oct. 2020) (Article).

书奖:Winning 2020 Springer-Nature China New Development Awards

9月 18th, 2020

The Springer book “Production of Materials from Sustainable Biomass Resources” (2019) edited by Zhen Fang*, RL 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 10 scholarly books selected from the 1000 books published in 2019 in recognition of their exceptional contributions to the delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In September 2015, the 193 Member States of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, calling for action by all countries to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The 2030 Agenda provides a framework for all governments, businesses, organizations and society to work together to solve the world’s biggest challenges, such as poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, and peace and justice. Springer Nature, one of the world’s leading academic publishers, supports delivery of the SDGs through its publishing programme by sharing the discoveries that address the challenges of sustainable development. 

Dr. Linxiu Zhang (Director UNEP-IEMP) congratulates the winning authors and expresses her expectation for the future awards. Dr. Niels Peter Thomas (Managing Director, Books, Springer-Nature) and Mr. Arnout Jacobs (Managing Director,Greater China) explain the value of these Awards as well as praise the achievements in sustainable development research from China. 

Academic books are used by authors to summarize and share their long-term research findings at a certain stage of their careers. Compared with journal papers, they are more complete and comprehensive in topic coverage, and are written more systematically. They also feature a longer shelf life; in particular, some classics on fundamental research and works used as textbooks remain long-standing because of their enduring academic and ideological values. Therefore, academic books have their unique role and advantage in helping understand and solve complicated, sustainability issues spanning across different aspects of knowledge.

方真教授等主编著作荣获2020施普林格·自然“中国新发展奖”

2020年9月28日,施普林格•自然(Springer Nature)宣布10部学术图书荣获今年的“2020中国新发展奖” (China New Development Awards),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 Jr和田霄飞编辑的专著”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”。

今年的获奖图书,评选自2019年为中国学者出版的近1000多册图书和会议论文集,出版方是施普林格•自然旗下的两大出版机构——施普林格(Springer)和帕尔格雷夫•麦克米伦(Palgrave Macmillan)。获奖图书覆盖环境科学、人工智能、工程、社会科学,以及商务和经济学等各个学科领域,每部书的研究课题都涉及联合国17个可持续发展目标中的一个或多个目标。其中有4部聚焦于环境和可持续课题,如水资源管理、水文气象预测、环境可持续性和生物质材料,两部是有关免疫和老龄化等人类健康福利的课题,还有两部专注于人工智能和智能机器人。

张林秀博士(联合国环境署国际生态系统管理伙伴计划主任)向获奖作家表示祝贺,并对未来的奖项表示期待。Niels Peter Thomas博士(Springer Nature图书公司董事总经理)和Arnout Jacobs先生(大中华区总经理)解释了这些奖项的价值,并赞扬了中国在可持续发展研究方面取得的成就。


Acceptance speech (获奖感言)

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 highly-cited volumes (with 160k chapter cites and 3 books listed “Among the top 25% most downloaded eBooks”) ” with Volume 11 in progress:

Biofuels and Biorefineries Springer Nature Series:

1.Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Ionic Liquids by Zhen Fang, R. L. Smith, Jr., X. Qi, 2014

2.Near-critical and Supercritical Water and Their Applications for Biorefineries by Zhen Fang, C Xu, 2014

3.Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Microwave by Zhen Fang, R. L. Smith, Jr., X. Qi, 2015

4.Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Ultrasound by Zhen Fang, R. L. Smith, Jr., X. Qi, 2015

5.Production of Hydrogen from Renewable Resources by Zhen Fang, R. L. Smith, Jr., X. Qi, 2015

6.Production of Biofuels and Chemicals from Lignin by Zhen Fang, R. L. Smith, Jr. (Among the top 50% and 25% most downloaded eBooks in 2016 and 2018), 2016

7.Production of Platform Chemicals from Sustainable Resources by Zhen Fang, R. L. Smith, Jr., X. Qi (Among the top 25% most downloaded eBooks in 2017), 2017

8.Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Bifunctional Catalysts by Zhen Fang, R. L. Smith, Jr., H Li (Among the top 25% most downloaded eBooks in 2018),2017

9. Production of Materials from Sustainable Biomass Resources, (win 2020 Springer-Nature China New Development Awards) by Zhen Fang*, R. L. Smith, Jr., XF Tian, 2019

10. Production of Biofuels and Chemicals with Pyrolysis by Zhen Fang*, R. L. Smith, Jr., LJ Xu, 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.

优秀教师:Prof. Zhen Fang wins 2020 Excellent Teacher Award of NJAU

9月 15th, 2020

Prof. Zhen Fang together with other 8 teachers wins 2020 Excellent Teacher Award of NJAU (Nanjing Agricultural University) for his outstanding teaching and training undergraduate, master and PhD students as well as postdoctoral research fellows (PDFs) and young faculty members. 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陈利根和校长陈发棣为获奖老师颁发了证书。