Biomass Group, Nanjing Agricultural University, PO Box 68, 40 Dianjiangtai Road, Nanjing 210031

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 subjected to the approval by the Academic Degrees Committees of the college and university.

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.