Please attend Dr. Ladisch’s seminar on Monday 2/26. We’d like an excellent showing from LORRE!

Dr. Michael Ladisch 
The Future of Biorefining: Science, Technology and Applications

Event Date:	February 26, 2018
Hosted By:	Dean of Engineering
Time:	3:30 p.m.
Location:	STEW 214 A,B
Contact Name:	Marsha Freeland
Contact Phone:	765-494-5341
Contact Email:	mjfreeland@purdue.edu
Open To:	ALL
School or Program:	College of Engineering

Abstract

The future biorefining industry presents opportunities for developing bioprocesses by which renewable resources, broadly defined, may be transformed to low-carbon footprint products.  Research has made major advances in defining and developing locally appropriate feedstocks, understanding the role of plant cell wall structure and chemistry on recalcitrance, and identifying design criteria for cost-effective biomass conversion at a commercial demonstration scale.  However, the scale-up of processes that overcome the resistance of biomass to conversion to biofuels and bioproducts remains a challenge.   Numerous chemical, physical, and hydrothermal pretreatments of lignocellulosic feedstocks are known to enhance both rates and extents of enzyme hydrolysis but also generate inhibitors that prevent effective cellulose conversion.   This seminar will present developments in research that address recalcitrance and scale-up based on the work of many dedicated researchers.   The insights gained, particularly with respect to interactions and roles of proteins at surfaces during enzyme hydrolysis, will help to enable scale-up of biorefineries while at the same time resulting in science that could inform new applications ranging from pathogen detection to delivery of protein therapeutics in people.