The Mid-Hudson Section of the American Chemical Society and Vassar College Announce
The Wood-Based Biorefinery in a Petroleum Depleted World
Dr. Arthur J. Stipanovic,
Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry
State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF)
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Mudd Chemistry Building, Third Floor
Refreshments will be served at 6:30 pm
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
Contact: Dr Joseph Tanski (jotanski@vassar.edu, 845-437-7503)
Abstract: The 21st century is envisioned to become the age of biology as renewable biomass resources replace petroleum in energy and industrial product applications. Motivated by concerns over national energy security, global CO2 reduction, a need for biodegradable products, and enhanced rural economic development, the engineering and construction of biorefineries for the manufacture of fuels, chemicals, polymeric materials and power from renewable resources is now a critical national priority. The context and intent of a biorefinery must be much more than simply replacing crude oil with renewable raw materials. A successful biorefinery must: 1) efficiently separate its raw material source into individual components, and, 2) be able to convert these components into marketplace products. The biorefinery must mirror the efficiency of today’s modern petrochemical refinery in using all components of its raw material source for the production of chemicals, fuels, and power.
Woody lignocellulosic biomass is a complex, composite material consisting of three polymers in close association: hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin plus small amounts of low molecular weight extractives and inorganics. In this presentation, a group of synergistic biomass feedstock and biorefining technologies under development at SUNY-ESF, in collaboration with many industrial and academic partners, will be discussed including: short-rotation fast growing willow production, biodelignification, hemicellulose extraction, polymer conversion to fermentable sugars, biodegradable thermoplastics and hemicellulose-based composites.
See the Stipanovic Website at SUNY_ESF for further details…..http://www.esf.edu/chemistry/faculty/stipanov.htm
Bio: Dr. Arthur J. Stipanovic is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) in Syracuse , NY , and also serves as Director, Analytical and Technical Services. His research interests include biodegradable polymers from renewable resources, high-throughput analytical techniques for determining the composition of woody biomass and new processes for the wood-based biorefinery. Dr. Stipanovic received both his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from SUNY-ESF in polymer chemistry and much of his career was spent at the Texaco R&D labs in Beacon, NY, in new technology and lubricants research. He is a past Councilor and Executive Board member of the Mid-Hudson ACS section and, more recently, has served as Chair of the Syracuse section.
Directions: Vassar College is located off Raymond Avenue in Poughkeepsie , NY. Refer to the following link for driving directions and campus map: http://www.vassar.edu/directions/. Enter the Main Entrance of the campus on Raymond Avenue and go right towards the Mudd Chemistry Building. The Security Guard at the Main Entrance will direct you to parking.