BIOREFINING: ENERGY AND PRODUCTS FROM RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: ( CHEM 104 or 109 ) and ( CHEM 341 or 343 ), or graduate/professional standing Course Designation: Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2025 Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify the opportunities and challenges of energy, chemicals, and materials from biomass Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Describe chemical composition, anatomical structure, and physical & chemical properties of lignocellulosic biomass and their effect on biomass processing and conversion Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Evaluate the technologies and processes and their working principles for producing liquid biofuels, such as corn ethanol, cellulose ethanol, biodiesel, and other alternative fuels. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Outline representative platform chemicals derivable from biomass, such as furfural, HMF, levulinic acid, lactic acid, xylitol, and sorbitol, and their production technologies and reaction chemistry Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Compare the production of fibers, pulp & paper, and biobased materials from lignocellulosic biomass Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Develop mass balance for a process to convert biomass to fuel, chemical, or material. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Design a process to produce a target product (fuel, chemical, or material) Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 8. Synthesize the historical and current research on a select topic in biorefining and generate evidence-based predictions regarding the future direction of the topic. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify the opportunities and challenges of energy, chemicals, and materials from biomass Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Describe chemical composition, anatomical structure, and physical & chemical properties of lignocellulosic biomass and their effect on biomass processing and conversion Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Evaluate the technologies and processes and their working principles for producing liquid biofuels, such as corn ethanol, cellulose ethanol, biodiesel, and other alternative fuels. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Outline representative platform chemicals derivable from biomass, such as furfural, HMF, levulinic acid, lactic acid, xylitol, and sorbitol, and their production technologies and reaction chemistry Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Compare the production of fibers, pulp & paper, and biobased materials from lignocellulosic biomass Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Develop mass balance for a process to convert biomass to fuel, chemical, or material. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Design a process to produce a target product (fuel, chemical, or material) Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 8. Synthesize the historical and current research on a select topic in biorefining and generate evidence-based predictions regarding the future direction of the topic. Audience: Graduate