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Volume 7, Issue 2 (Suppl)
J Adv Chem Eng, an open access journal
ISSN: 2090-4568
Euro Chemical Engineering 2017
November 16-17, 2017
ADVANCES IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
November 16-17, 2017 | Paris, France
2
nd
International Conference on
Biological breakdown of lignocellulose to produce renewable energy
Conly Hansen
1
, Jaron Hansen
2
, Lee Hansen
and
Zachary Aanderud
1
Utah State University, USA
2
Brigham Young University, USA
L
ignocellulosic biomass is the most abundantly available raw material on the Earth for the production of biofuels. The
conversion of lignocellulose into renewable energy and more valuable chemicals has been limited. Several methods
for increasing the conversion of lignocellulose into biogas by pretreating the feedstock have been developed, but all of the
existing methods have large economic penalties, e.g. disposal of toxic wastes and greatly increased capital and operating
costs. The discovery and characterization of Caldicellulosiruptor microbes, extremophilic organisms capable of solubilizing
lignocellulose, suggested a possible solution to the economic problem of pretreatment. For example, researchers (Blumer-
Schuette et al., 2014) have found that up to 90% of the biomass in switchgrass could be solubilized by
C. bescii,
thus providing
proof of concept. Beginning in 2014, recognizing the potential for anaerobic digestion of lignocellulose for biogas production,
a multidisciplinary team including a biochemist, chemist, microbiologist and agricultural engineer, from Brigham Young and
Utah State Universities has been conducting experiments to determine if we could break down other lignocellulose feedstocks
for later anaerobic digestion. Our experimental results have been very encouraging in providing proof of concept that anaerobic
digestion of lignocellulose, something that has never been done in a commercially viable way, may be both possible and
attainable. However, the commercialization and scaling up of lab experiments is not simply a process of buying bigger tanks but
requires cross-discipline expertise in order to overcome the inevitable differences between 20-1000 mL lab experimentation
and a multiple m3 system. This presentation will report the results of work we have done to take the process from the lab to the
market; the hurdles to scaling and commercializing the anaerobic digestion of lignocellulose in an economically viable way.
Biography
Dr. Conly Hansen has completed his PhD in Agricultural Engineering from The Ohio State University and joined as a Project Engineer for United States Army
(discharged as Captain). At present, he is working as a Professor and Graduate Program Director at Center for Profitable Uses of Agricultural Byproducts, USA. He
has published more than 56 research articles in reputed journals along with 6 book chapters; and presented more than 38 presentations with abstracts in national/
international conference/symposia. He has around 14 significant honors on his name.
conly.hansen@usu.eduConly Hansen et al., J Adv Chem Eng 2017, 7:2(Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2090-4568-C1-002