Research Focus
Development of efficient, affordable and scalable pretreatment technologies.
Projects
- Mechanistic understanding and optimization of Ionic Liquid Pretreatment
- Discovery and Screening of new Ionic Liquids
- Impact of modified feedstocks, densification and blending
- Improving Ionic Liquid pretreatment process economics
Featured Media
Scientists Harness CO2 to Consolidate Biofuel Production Process
Turning ubiquitous lignin into high-value chemicals
One-Stop Shop for Biofuels
Bionic Liquids from Lignin
New Advance in Biofuel Production
Biofuels Blend Right In
Women in Science@LBL
Seema Singh is a biophysicist and a guest senior scientist with the JBEI Deconstruction Research Division & a director of Biomass Pretreatment. She is a distinguished member of the technical staff in Biomass Science and Conversion Technologies Department at Sandia National laboratories, CA.
Biofuels Blend Right In
Researchers Show Ionic Liquids Effective for Pre-Treating Mixed Blends of Biofuel Feedstocks
A Corny Turn for Biofuels from Switchgrass:
Berkeley Researchers Boost Switchgrass Biofuels Potential by Adding a Maize Gene to Switchgrass
Fuels from Biomass: New Technique Can Fast-Track Better Ionic Liquids for Biomass Pre-Treatments
Featured Publications
- “Decoding how a soil bacterium extracts building blocks and metabolic energy from ligninolysis provides road map for lignin valorization”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2016)
- “CO2 enabled process integration for the production of cellulosic ethanol using bionic liquids.” Energy & Environmental Science (2016)
- “Transforming biomass conversion with ionic liquids: process intensification and the development of a high-gravity, one-pot process for the production of cellulosic ethanol.” Energy & Environmental Science (2016)
- “Next-generation ammonia pretreatment enhances cellulosic biofuel production”, Energy & Environmental Science (2016)
- “Theory, practice and prospects of X-ray and neutron scattering for lignocellulosic biomass characterization: towards understanding biomass pretreatment”, Energy & Environmental Science (2015)
- “Efficient biomass pretreatment using ionic liquids derived from lignin and hemicellulose”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2014)
- Book Chapter “Feedstocks for Aviation Biofuels” in Biofuels for Aviation, Elsevier (2016), ISBN: 978-0-12-804568-8
- Book Chapter “Ionic Liquid Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Biofuels and Chemicals” in Ionic Liquids in the Biorefinery Concept: Challenges and Perspectives, RSC (2016), ISBN: 978-1-84973-976-4
- Book Editor “Valorization of Lignocellulosic Biomass in a Biorefinery: From Logistics to Environmental And Performance Impact”, Nova Science Publishers (2016), ISBN: 978-1-63485-827-4
- “Impact of High Biomass Loading on Ionic Liquid Pretreatment”, Biotechnol Biofuels (2013)
- “Survey of Renewable Chemicals Produced from Lignocellulosic Biomass during Ionic Liquid Pretreatment”, Biotechnol Biofuels (2013)
- “Impact of Mixed Feedstocks and Feedstock Densification on Ionic Liquid Pretreatment Efficiency”, Biofuels (2013)
- “Unveiling High-Resolution, Tissue Specific Dynamic Changes in Corn Stover during Ionic Liquid Pretreatment”, RSC Advances (2013)
- “Influence of Physico-Chemical Changes on Enzymatic Digestibility of Ionic Liquid and AFEX pretreated Corn Stover”, Bioresource Technology (2011)
- “Visualization of biomass solubilization and cellulose regeneration during ionic liquid pretreatment of switchgrass”, Biotechnology and Bioengineering (2009)
Featured Intellectual Property
- Renewable Chemicals Produced from Lignin
- Ionic Liquids from Lignin-derived Compounds
- Sugar Extraction and Ionic Liquid Recycling Using Alkaline Solutions
- Mixed Bioenergy Feedstock Processing Using Ionic Liquids
- Enhanced Ionic Liquid Biomass Pretreatment
- Acid Hydrolysis of Biomass and Increased Sugar Recovery by Solvent Extraction
- Fractionation and Removal of Solutes from Ionic Liquids
- Recovery of Sugars by Solvent Extraction