Source: PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
THE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FOR A BIOBASED INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
REVISED
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1017582
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
PEN04671
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
S-OLD 1075
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Oct 1, 2018
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2023
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
Demirci, AL.
Recipient Organization
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
208 MUELLER LABORATORY
UNIVERSITY PARK,PA 16802
Performing Department
Agri & Biological Engineering
Non Technical Summary
Increased use of economically-viable and sustainable processes will require deliberate development and refinement of novel technologies. Implementation of economically viable and sustainable processes is urgent due to three converging issues: (1) decrease in productive agricultural land due to urbanization pressures; (2) using unsustainable methods to clear land for agricultural production; and (3) increasing world population with a rising per capita energy use and consumption of animal protein. One billion hectares of land will be cleared by 2050, resulting in the release of 3 Gt/year of greenhouse gases (Tilman et al., 2011). Global population will reach 9 billion by 2050, resulting in rising food demand from 2005 to 2050 (Tilman et al., 2011; Hochman et al. 2014). The breadth of these intersecting problems is so vast that constructive solutions can only be developed and implemented through collaborations that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. Replacing existing petroleum-based energy and products with those that are stemming from biomass and other agricultural products will require research and development (Dale et al. 2014). Additionally, in order to determine whether novel processes and ensuing technology are actually making advances in sustainability, quantitative sustainability metrics need to be developed. These metrics are urgently needed to guide science and/or engineering approaches to increase sustainability of agricultural production and processing. The Land Grant University system can partner with important policy-setting agencies including United States Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Energy (US DOE), Defense (US DOD), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) for doing the research that will allow us to meet our renewable energy production goals.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
50%
Developmental
10%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
4027299202090%
6046230301010%
Knowledge Area
604 - Marketing and Distribution Practices; 402 - Engineering Systems and Equipment;

Subject Of Investigation
6230 - Marketing systems and sectors thereof; 7299 - Research equipment and methods, general/other;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering; 3010 - Economics;
Goals / Objectives
Develop deployable biomass feedstock and supply knowledge, processes and logistics systems that economically deliver timely and sufficient quantities of biomass with predictable specifications to meet efficient handling, storage and conversion process requirements Research and develop technically feasible, economically viable and environmentally sustainable technologies to convert biomass resources into chemicals, energy, materials in a biorefinery methodology including developing co-products to enable greater commercialization potential. Perform system analysis to support and inform development of sustainable multiple product streams (chemicals, energy, and materials) and use the insights from the systems analysis to guide research and policy decisions
Project Methods
Objective A: Develop deployable biomass feedstock and supply knowledge, processes and logistics systems that economically deliver timely and sufficient quantities of biomass with predictable specifications to meet efficient handling, storage and conversion process requirements (J. Liu, T. Richard).Biomass type and availability is dependent on climate and soil conditions as well as existing agricultural and forest management experience and infrastructure, and thus varies with different geographic locations. Cellulosic biomass from agricultural and forestry sources is characterized by a high moisture content, low bulk density, and variable seasonal yields. This objective is to identify and evaluate biomass feedstock type and availability within an agro-ecological region, characterize those biomass properties, and to develop engineered systems that harvest and deliver the biomass, supplying abundant and inexpensive bio-feedstocks with predictable characteristics to commercial biorefineries. Overall, this objective is to provide technology and data for designing supply systems that are scalable for providing abundant quantities of cost competitive biomass.Task 1: Identify and evaluate biomass type and availability for selected geographic regions based on economic, agronomic, and climate conditions; Characterize physical and chemical properties of feedstocks throughout the supply chain.Task 2: Develop deployable biomass feedstock supply knowledge, processes and logistics systems that economically deliver timely and sufficient quantities of biomass with predictable specifications to meet conversion process-dictated feedstock tolerances.Task 3: Develop and evaluate harvest, pre-processing, handling, densification, storage, and transportation methods for specific biomass feedstock end-users.Task 4: Assess the economic and logistic challenges of production of perennial bioenergy feedstocks in landscape niches that are more profitable than conventional row crops.Task 5: Develop and evaluate co-products from agricultural and forestry feedstocks, as well as from processing residuals from non-energy bio-based industries. Objective B: Research and develop technically feasible, economically viable and environmentally sustainable technologies to convert biomass resources into chemicals, energy, materials in a biorefinery methodology including developing co-products to enable greater commercialization potential (A. Demirci, T. Richard, H. Salis, P. Smith).First generation energy (biodiesel and sugar/starch-based biofuels) production must continue to improve to remain economically competitive and improve sustainability. Despite efforts that have been made in conversion technologies, development of industrial scale second generation biorefineries, using either biochemical or thermochemical platforms, is still lagging. Improving sugar, bioenergy or bioproduct yields would be valuable in enabling development. Integration between feedstock supply and conversion could be an important step in improving yields. And, examining select value stream outputs, including biochemicals and biomaterials as well as biofuels and energy, will better optimize biorefinery investment returns. The multi-state community can facilitate the integration between feedstock logistics, conversion and value stream outputs by providing systems-level insight between conversion and biological and physical properties of biomass feedstocks and select product outputs.i) First generation energy processesTask 1: Characterization of new feedstocks.Task 2. Investigate and develop biomethane as a near term biofuel for transportation and dispatchable renewable electricity.Task 3: Improve and characterize processes for first generation energy production.Task 4: Investigate and develop sustainable technologies to convert biomass resources into biofuels.ii) Biological conversion technologiesTask 5: Develop and characterize innovative technologies to facilitate biological conversion processes.Task 6: Investigate and develop sustainable technologies to produce chemicals, energy, materials, and other value-added products from renewable sources.ii) Value Stream OutputsTask 7: Evaluate new market opportunities for biomass products and coproducts, including both conventional and novel product markets as well as environmental markets for various ecosystem services.Task 8: Examine a diverse array of value stream outputs from the integrated production of second generation cellulosic biofuels and biochemicals to improve financial performance and mitigate risk.Objective C: Perform system analysis to support and inform development of sustainable multiple product streams (chemicals, energy, and materials) and use the insights from the systems analysis to guide research and policy decisions (T. Richard).Development of environmentally sustainable and economically viable sources of bioenergy and bioproducts is driven by the need to reduce the environmental impact of the energy industry. For this, supply chains capable of providing ample biomass for the production of advanced biofuels will be necessary, and these supply chains will need to be integrated with commercial scale conversion facilities and connected to viable distribution systems. This objective is to utilize existing system analysis technology to assist in the development of useable frameworks to facilitate the biorefinery development.Task 1: Develop system models and data to represent integrated feedstock supply systems, including discrete processes, and entire supply chain logistics.Task 2: Develop modeling and systems approaches to support development of sustainable biomass production and conversion to bioenergy and bioproducts.Task 3: Develop system models and data to assess sustainability of integrated conversion platforms.Task 4: Evaluate soil and water quality and flood and climate mitigation benefits of producing perennial biomass crops on environmentally vulnerable parts of the landscape.Task 5: Develop integrated system models to configure, analyze and optimize bioenergy and biofuel production systems. A particular focus will be on modeling the economic and environmental tradeoffs associated with redefining parts of cropland fields to perennials.

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences for this proposed research include a) the science and engineering research community, b) biomass processing companies ranging from small start-ups to large multi-national companies, c) policy analysts and decision makers, and d) potential biomass producers and the general public. Stakeholders include state and national organizations, state and federal agencies, companies and industry consultants. There is also strong public interest in understanding the environmental impacts of the biomass production and processing technologies as well as comparisons to conventional petroleum-derived products. These various stakeholders are being engaged through ongoing extension education programming that includes public presentations, short courses, websites (e.g., www.bioenergy.psu.edu, https://extension.psu.edu/, and www.newbio.psu.edu/), scientific journal articles and extension publications. The project results will benefit biomass producers, the bioprocessing/fermentation industry and the rural public in general as a result of production of value-added products and bioenergy from raw agricultural products or by-products. Changes/Problems:No major changes or problems to report. However, these research programs are mostly funded by external grants, so adapts to the needs and interests of the current group of sponsoring agencies and organizations. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?These projects have provided substantial hands-on experiential training opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students. Students have disseminated their results through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and weekly lab meetings. Prior to March 2020, graduate students attended national conferences and workshops to present their recent research. Prior to March 2020, one graduate student carried out a summer industrial internship at Bristol Myers Squib. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Stakeholders have been engaged through ongoing extension education programming that includes public presentations, field days, short courses, websites (www.bioenergy.psu.edu, https://extension.psu.edu/, and www.newbio.psu.edu/), scientific journal articles and extension publications. Results have been disseminated through publication of peer-reviewed articles in high tier journals. Researchers may also directly utilize our research results (our developed biophysical models & design algorithms) through our web-based design platform, available at https://salislab.net/software. Also, results have been shared with industrial partners and sponsors. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period work will continue on all three goals. In support of Goal 1, our focus will be on landscape design, feedstock production and harvesting strategies that enhance profitability of economically marginal subfield areas; complete the miscanthus mechanical property tests and continue on hemp harvesting equipment conceptual design and lab studies. In support of Goal 2, we will continue to investigate new matrix materials and reinforcing fibers for sustainable 3D printing. We will also begin investigating sustainable extraction methods to remove lignin from low-(economic) value forest products to enhance that for PA foresters and sawmill operators. We will also continue investigating microbial conversion of biomass into methane and carboxylic acids through various modes of anaerobic mixed culture fermentation, with a strong emphasis on mechanical cotreatment (milling during fermentation, mimicking the rumination and cud-chewing of a cow). The projects to produce hydrolytic enzymes production from distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for cellulosic biomass hydrolysis for biofuels and other uses and the project to produce bacterial cellulose will continue and optimization studies will be performed in bench-top bioreactors. Also, Vitamin K production through biofilm reactors will be studied in biofilm reactors by using batch and continuous fermentation modes as well as the scale-up strategies will be evaluated by using pilot-scale bioreactors toward the commercialization of Vitamin K production by using biofilm reactors. We will continue to develop and experimentally validate new biophysical models to predict promoter transcription rates and messenger Ribonucleic Acid (mRNA) degradation rates inside bacteria. These models will enable the automated design of bacterial synthetic genetic systems with desired mRNA concentrations and enzyme production rates, greatly improving our ability to rationally engineer organisms for bioproduction. In support of Goal 3, we will continue experimental and modeling efforts to understand and enhance system-level opportunities to find synergies between profitable on-farm biomass production, advanced conversion technologies, and innovative market products. A particular emphasis will be on carbon management and negative emission strategies such as terrestrial sequestration through increasing soil carbon and geological sequestration through Biomass Energy Carbon Capture and Storage. Also, techno-economic analysis of levulinic acid production from lignocellulosic biomass. We plan to continue the analysis by including other methods of production of levulinic acid in the model. Furthermore, life-cycle assessment of hydrothermal carbonization systems for the valorization of anaerobic digestate. We plan to finish the preliminary analysis and system designed and use that data to design and execute experiments to perform process optimization. Finally, systems analysis and design and lignin valorization systems including biomass fractionation, lignin conversion, and supply chains of feedstock, intermediates, and products will be performed.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Following projects have been studied for Goal 1 by Jude Liu: The cutting strength of miscanthus was studied using a high-speed dynamic cutting device. Tested three design concepts for hemp fiber decorticating mechanisms in laboratory. Following projects have been studied for Goals 1, 2, and 3 by Tom Richard: In support of Goal 1, we are modeling feedstock production and harvesting strategies that spatially identify and efficiently manage economically marginal subfield areas. This year we improved and validated a high resolution biophysical and economic model to identify unprofitable areas and identified market pathways to profitably convert this land to perennial biomass production. We are also characterizing risks associated with feedstock and supply chain uncertainties along the value chain. In support of Goal 2, we are investigating microbial conversion of biomass into methane and carboxylic acids through various modes of anaerobic mixed culture fermentation, with a strong emphasis on mechanical cotreatment (milling during fermentation, mimicking the rumination and cud-chewing of a cow). This year we characterized the microbiomes and identified several organisms that appear to tolerate the stress of milling and can functionally replace those that do not. In support of Goal 3, we also continued experimental and modeling efforts to understand and enhance system-level opportunities to find synergies between profitable on-farm biomass production, advanced conversion technologies, and innovative market products. We have intensified academic and private sector collaborations on the ecosystem service valuation of perennial energy grasses and energy winter crops for water quality in the Chesapeake Bay region as well as the Upper Mississippi Basin watersheds in Iowa. We continue our work to quantify carbon offset benefits in forest and cropland bioenergy systems, including opportunities for Biomass Energy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). Following projects have been studied for Goal 2 by Stephen Chmely: We have begun investigating 3D printing of advanced composite materials that contain cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). These materials are printed on a small scale using a commercial DLP 3D printer, and we monitor improvements in modulus using tensile testing. We have shown modest increases in performance of commercial prototyping resins by including 0.1% (wt) CNCs that have been suitably modified to enhance their dispersion in the hydrophobic resin materials. Following projects have been studied for Goal 2 by Ali Demirci: The project to produce hydrolytic enzymes production from distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for cellulosic biomass hydrolysis for biofuels and other uses have been continued. In this study, it was proposed that DDGS can replace the high-cost feed-stock to produce these enzymes. In another project, Bacterial Cellulose (BC) has been studied with co-culturing. BC due to its high porosity, high tensile strength, biocompatibility, and crystal structure, is a value-added product that can be used in many different applications including biomedical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, fiber composite, and filtration. Therefore, this research is undertaken to study the effect of adding pullulan, an alpha (1-6) linked maltotriose polymer produced by the fungus Aureobasidium pullulans on enhancing the production and mechanical behaviors of BC cultivated by agitated fermentation. In a different study, various models were evaluated and utilized to observed values and kinetic parameters of the batch ethanol fabrication from carob extract in the suspended-cell stirred tank reactor (SCSTR). The best model was detected with the model comparison parameters. The results indicated that the model Stannard (ST) successfully predicted biomass production data, ethanol production, and sugar consumption. Consequently, the model ST can work as a universal function in predicting observed values and kinetics of batch ethanol generation from carob extract in an SCSTR. Following projects have been studied for Goal 2 by Howard Salis: In a collaboration with LanzaTech Inc., the Salis Lab developed new technologies for engineering Clostridium autoethanogenum, which is a bacterial strain capable of catabolizing CO, CO2, and H2 gas feedstock and converting it into valuable chemicals. These technologies accelerate the design-build-test-learn cycle for metabolic engineering and broaden the types of products that can be synthesized using this special organism. For example, using our newly developed Non-Repetitive Parts Calculator, we designed, constructed, and characterized 1200 non-repetitive promoters for controlling enzyme expression levels across a 10,000-fold range in Clostridium autoethanogenum. This toolbox of promoters enables metabolic engineers to introduce the expression of several heterologous (non-native) enzymes and rationally control their reaction rates. Following projects have been studied for Goal 3 by Juliana Vasco-Correa. Techno-economic analysis of levulinic acid production from lignocellulosic biomass. The objective of this project is to evaluate the feasibility of different technologies for the production of levulinic acid as a platform chemical from biomass. We have performed an initial data collection and inventory analysis, and built some basic models. In another process, life-cycle assessment (LCA) of hydrothermal carbonization systems for the valorization of anaerobic digestate was studied. The objective of this project was to use life-cycle assessment as a tool to design a sustainable system that converts anaerobic digestion into materials of high-value using thermochemical conversion. We have performed some preliminary LCAs and energy analyses.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Chahal, A., D. Ciolkosz, V. Puri, J. Liu, and M. Jacobson. 2020. Factors affecting wood-bark adhesion for debarking of shrub willow. Biosystems Engineering 196: 202-209.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Herbstritt, S., V. Vazhnik, L. Fowler, T.L. Richard, A. Harvey, D. Nardone, P. Kleinman, S. Fanok, C. Ernst, J. Duncan, C. Hinrichs, F. Circle, S. Nicholas, T. Coulter and T. Stark. 2019. Establishment of Multifunctional Riparian Buffers. 48 pp. Chesapeake Bay Program, Science and Technical Advisory Committee Publication Number 19-008, Edgewater, MD.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Hannon, J.R., L.R. Lynd, C.E.Wyman, O. Andrade, P.T. Benavides, G. Beckham, M.J. Biddy, N. Brown, D. Bushong, M.R. Chagas, B. Davison, T. Foust, T.L. Junqueira, M.S. Laser, Z. Li, T.L. Richard (Author), L. Tao, G. Tuskan, M. Wang and J. Woods. (2019). Technoeconomic and life cycle analysis of catalytically converting wet ethanol into fungible fuel blendstocks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019; 201821684 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1821684116.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Mahdinia, E., A. Demirci, and A. Berenjian. 2019. Evaluation of Vitamin K (Menaquinone-7) Stability and secretion in glucose and glycerol-based media by Bacillus subtilis natto. Acta Alimentaria, An International Journal of Food Science. 48(4):405414. DOI:10.1556/066.2019.48.4.1.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Iram, A., Cekmecelioglu, D. and A. Demirci. 2020. Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) and its Potential as the Fermentation Feedstock. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 104(14), 6115-6128. DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-10682-0.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Germec, M., M. Karhan, A. Demirci, and I. Turhan. 2020. Mathematical modeling of batch bioethanol generation from carob extract in the suspended-cell stirred-tank bioreactor. International Journal of Energy Research. 44(11):9021-9034.DOI:10.1002/er.5612.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Hossain A., Lopez, E., Halper, S.M., Cetnar, D.P., Reis A.C., Strickland, D., Klavins E., and Salis, H.M. Automated design of thousands of non-repetitive parts for engineering stable genetic systems. 2020. Nature Biotechnology.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Hossain, A., Halper, S.M. and Salis, H.M. 2020. The Synthesis Success Calculator: Predicting the Rapid Synthesis of DNA Fragments with Machine Learning. ACS Synthetic Biology, in press. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.9b00460.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Manzano, I., Vezeau, G., Salis, H., & Zydney, A. L. 2020. RNA size and 3-dimensional structure determine ultrafiltration behavior of small RNA molecules. Separation and Purification Technology, 237, 116372.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Mahdinia, E., D. Cekmecelioglu, and A. Demirci. 2019. Bioreactor scale up. In Essentials in Fermentation Technology. A. Berenjian, Ed. Springer International Publishing AG, Cham, Switzerland. pp 213-236. ISBN: 978-3030162306.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ercan-Oruc. D., A. L. Pometto III, and A. Demirci. 2020. Technologies for microbial production of food ingredients. In Functional Foods and Biotechnology: Biotransformation and Analysis of Functional Foods and Ingredients. K. Shetty and D. Sarkar, Eds. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL. ISBN: 9780367429218.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Halper, S. 2019. Design Optimization Algorithms for Synthetic Biology Applications. Ph.D. Dissertation, Pennsylvania State University. University Park, PA.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Bharadwaj, A. 2020. Microbial Adaptation and Cotreatment-Enhanced Biomass Solubilization in Lignocellulosic Anaerobic Digestion. Ph.D. Dissertation. Pennsylvania State University. University Park, PA.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Vazhnik, V. 2020. Farm Landscape Design Decision Support to Increase Economic, Environmental and Social Benefits Using Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainability Assessment and Spatial Analysis. Ph.D. Dissertation. Pennsylvania State University. University Park, PA.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Hu, H. 2020. Enhancing bacterial cellulose production rate of Gluconacetobacter strains using co-culturing methods. M.S. Thesis. Pennsylvania State University. University Park, PA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Richard, T.L., A. Bharadwaj and I. Amador-Diaz. Biomimetic Rumination: Cotreatments Energy Return on Energy Investment. AIChE annual meeting. Nov. 11. Orlando, FL.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Lynd, L., E. Holwerda, D. Olson, X. Liang, M. Laser, C. Wyman, J. Hannon, L. Wang, C. Maranas, T.L. Richard, G.A. Tuskan, and B. Davison. Reinventing Biorefining. Sustainable Bioenergy Plenary Session, AIChE annual meeting. Nov. 11. Orlando, FL.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Vazhnik, V., M. Roni, J. Hansen, S. Bansal and T.L. Richard. 2019. Crop allocation spatial decision-making using stakeholder engagement, sustainability indicators and multi-attribute optimization. Presented at INFORMS Annual Meeting, October 20-23, Seattle, Washington
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Veronika V., S. Herbstritt, M. Griffel, T.L. Richard and J. Hansen. 2019. Perennial grasses in integrated landscape designs: carbon drawdown, profit potential, and ecosystem service opportunities. Research to Action: The Science of Drawdown: Research to Action, Sep 16-18, 2019, University Park. PA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Bharadwaj, A., J.A. May, E. Holwerda, L.R. Lynd, and T.L. Richard. 2019. Cotreatment enhanced anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic biomass. The Science of Drawdown: Research to Action, Sep 16-18, 2019, University Park. PA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Chmely, S. 2020. Agriculture and the promise of advanced manufacturing: 3D printing with lignin. Annual International Meeting of the ASABE, Virtual & On-demand. July 12-15.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Hu, H., Catchmark, J.M., and Demirci, A. 2020. Study of a novel co-culturing fermentation for bacterial cellulose nanocomposite production. ASABE Paper No. 2000031. Annual International Meeting of the ASABE, Virtual & On-demand. July 12-15.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Iram, A., A. Demirci, and D. Cekmecelioglu. 2020. Bacterial and fungal strain selections for cellulase and xylanase production using distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). ASABE Paper No. 2000032. Annual International Meeting of the ASABE, Virtual & On-demand. July 12-15.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Iram, A., D. Cekmecelioglu, and A. Demirci. 2020. Optimization of nitrogen sources to produce cellulase and xylanase enzymes in Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles-based medium. Northeast Agricultural and Biological Engineering Conference. Virtual. July 28.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Iram, A., D. Cekmecelioglu, and A. Demirci. 2020. Salt and Nitrogen amendment for the cellulase and xylanase production using Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles-based medium as the Feedstock. Northeast Agricultural and Biological Engineering Conference. Virtual. July 28.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Hu, H., J. Catchmark, and A. Demirci. 2020. Study of pullulan additives and a novel co-culturing fermentation for bacterial cellulose nanocomposite production. Northeast Agricultural and Biological Engineering Conference. Virtual. July 28.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Salis, H.M. 2019. Automated Design of Large Genetic Systems for Engineering Organisms. Invent Penn State. State College, PA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Salis, H.M. 2019. Automated Design of Large Genetic Systems for Engineering Organisms. NSF Square Table Workshop on Programmable Interfaces. Arlington, VA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Salis, H.M. 2019. Toolboxes of Non-Repetitive Genetic Parts. DARPA SD2 Workshop. Boston, MA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Salis, H.M. 2019. Automated Design of Large Genetic Systems for Engineering Organisms. Workshop on a Synthetic Biology Manufacturing Innovation Institute. Boston, MA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Salis, H.M. 2019. New Technologies in Synthetic Biology. SBME Roadmapping Workshop. Arlington, VA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Salis, H.M. 2020. Toolboxes of Non-Repetitive Genetic Parts for Engineering Clostridia. DOE Genomic Sciences Meeting. Washington D.C.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Battisto, E., Vasco-Correa, J. 2020. Comparative techno-economic analysis of levulinic acid production from lignocellulosic biomass. Annual International Meeting of the ASABE, Virtual & On-demand. July 12-15.


Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences for this proposed research include a) the science and engineering research community, b) biomass processing companies ranging from small start-ups to large multi-national companies, c) policy analysts and decision makers, and d) potential biomass producers and the general public. Stakeholders include state and national organizations, state and federal agencies, companies and industry consultants. There is also strong public interest in understanding the environmental impacts of the biomass production and processing technologies as well as comparisons to conventional petroleum-derived products. These various stakeholders are being engaged through ongoing extension education programming that includes public presentations, short courses, websites (e.g. www.bioenergy.psu.edu, eXtension), scientific journal articles and extension publications. The project results will benefit biomass producers, the bioprocessing/fermentation industry and the rural public in general as a result of production of value-added products and bioenergy from raw agricultural products or by-products. Changes/Problems:No major changes or problems to report. However, this research program is mostly funded by external grants, so adapts to the needs and interests of the current group of sponsoring agencies and organizations. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided substantial hands-on experiential training opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students. Students have disseminated their results through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and weekly lab meetings. One doctoral student recently finished an internship at Army Research Lab in Adelphi, MD through the SMART Fellowship program. Another doctoral student recently finished an internship at Bristol Myers Squibb in New Jersey. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Stakeholders have been engaged through ongoing extension education programming that includes public presentations, field days, short courses, websites (www.bioenergy.psu.edu, eXtension, and NEWBio.psu.edu), scientific journal articles and extension publications. We have also developed and maintained a web interface to our predictive models and algorithms, enabling researchers from around the world to utilize our rational design methodologies for engineering organisms. URL: https://salislab.net/software. Hemp harvesting technologies and equipment was presented to the Hemp Field Day on August 6th, 2019 in Southeast Research and Extension Center, Penn State. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period work will continue on all three goals. In support of Goal 1 our focus will be on landscape design, feedstock production and harvesting strategies that enhance profitability of economically marginal subfield areas. We will continue on hemp harvesting equipment conceptual design and lab studies. In support of Goal 2, we will continue investigating microbial conversion of biomass into methane and carboxylic acids through various modes of anaerobic mixed culture fermentation, with a strong emphasis on mechanical cotreatment (milling during fermentation, mimicking the rumination and cud-chewing of a cow). The projects to produce hydrolytic enzymes production from distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for cellulosic biomass hydrolysis for biofuels and other uses and the project to produce bacterial cellulose with mixed culture fermentation will continue. We will also continue to pursue high profile examples of our developed technologies to demonstrate how they can rapidly accelerate the design-build-test cycle of Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering. In support of Goal 3 we will continue experimental and modeling efforts to understand and enhance system-level opportunities to find synergies between profitable on-farm biomass production, advanced conversion technologies, and innovative market products. A particular emphasis will be on carbon management and negative emission strategies such as terrestrial sequestration through increasing soil carbon and geological sequestration through Biomass Energy Carbon Capture and Storage.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Following projects have been studied for Goal 1 by Jude Liu: a) Modified a high-speed dynamic cutting device for energy crop stem samples. Also, processed lab scale experimental results of miscanthus bale compression and also b) Started a new project "hemp harvesting technologies," supported by the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State. Large scale hemp production is facing the same logistical and equipment challenges with biomass harvesting and processing. Following projects have been studied for Goals 1, 2, and 3 by Tom Richard: a) Modeling feedstock production and harvesting strategies that spatially identify and efficiently manage economically marginal subfield areas. This year we developed and applied a high resolution biophysical and economic model to identify unprofitable areas, which in test counties were between 8 and 15% of annual cropland, much of which can be profitably converted to perennial biomass production where biomass markets are available. We are also characterizing feedstock characteristics along the value chain; b) Microbial conversion of biomass into methane and carboxylic acids through various modes of anaerobic mixed culture fermentation, with a strong emphasis on mechanical cotreatment (milling during fermentation, mimicking the rumination and cud-chewing of a cow). This year we were able to demonstrate a 20% increase in methane production through cotreatment of switchgrass; c) Continued experimental and modeling efforts to understand and enhance system-level opportunities to find synergies between profitable on-farm biomass production, advanced conversion technologies, and innovative market products. We have intensified academic and private sector collaborations on the ecosystem service valuation of perennial energy grasses and energy winter crops for water quality in the Chesapeake Bay region as well as the Upper Mississippi Basin watersheds in Iowa. We continue our work to quantify carbon offset benefits in forest and cropland bioenergy systems, including opportunities for Biomass Energy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). We gave conference presentations and are completing papers on several of these topics as indicated below. Following projects have been studied for Goal 2 by Ali Demirci: a) The project to produce hydrolytic enzymes production from distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for cellulosic biomass hydrolysis for biofuels and other uses. In this study, it was proposed that DDGS can replace the high-cost feed-stocks to produce these enzymes. To achieve this goal, nine microbial strains have been evaluated to explore the potential of DDGS as the main carbon source for the enzyme productions. Maximum cellulase production of 1.030 IU/ml was observed for Aspergillus niger (NRRL 1956) on the eighteenth day and maximum xylanase of 34.8 IU/ml was produced by Aspergillus niger (NRRL 567) on day twelfth of shake-flask of fermentation. It was also observed that the bacterial enzyme production was relatively low as compared to the fungal enzyme production. This study shows that DDGS can be an efficient substrate for T. reesei and A. niger for the productions of cellulase and xylanase, respectively. Next phase of the study will further optimize the productions of cellulase and xylanase by these microorganisms in terms of growth parameters and media by using bench-top bioreactors. b) Ethanol production in biofilm reactor with non-sterile carob extract media and application of mathematical models to ethanol fermentation in biofilm reactor with carob extract and have been studied. In conclusion, the ethanol production in a biofilm reactor is growth-associated since α (gP/gX) was greater than β (gP/gX.h) and Media D and E increased the economic production of carob extract-based ethanol. c) A new project has started to produce bacterial cellulose with mixed culture fermentation. Following projects have been studied for Goal 2 by Howard Salis: a) Strain development for Clostridium autoethanogenum with improved bioconversion of syngas (CO2, CO, H2) into 3-hydroxy propionic acid (3-HP), which is a precursor to common plastic materials. To do this, we have developed improved genetic tools to precisely control protein expression in Clostridium at the transcription and translation steps. b) We have also developed CRISPR-based arrays to regulate the expression of many endogenous enzymes and thereby redirect metabolic flows towards desired chemical products. Our technologies will enable more rapid genetic and metabolic engineering of Clostridium species and will broaden the portfolio of specialty chemicals that can be produced from syngas fermentation. Following projects have been studied for Goal 3 by Paul M. Smith. a) Explored perspectives of airport management on aviation biofuels in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. This study studied perspectives of airport management on aviation biofuels in the Pacific Northwest of the USA by administering an online survey of airport managers in FAA certified airports in the region. Respondents provided their opinions on factors important for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) development in the Pacific Northwest, including perceptions of various potential drivers and barriers to scale-up in the region. Most respondents indicated that policy certainty to attract capital, higher oil prices, and technology breakthroughs are required for a viable industry, and they also indicated that government intervention is important to ensure successful adoption and implementation. Respondents indicated that aviation biofuel tax credits, a system to issue and trade sustainable biofuel certificates, and fuel sustainability certification criteria are required policies/protocol to ensure viability. We suggest that a regional approach to examining barriers, drivers, and policy requirements provide more nuanced perspectives regarding key development and scale-up issues.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Iram, A., A. Demirci, and D. Cekmecelioglu. 2019. Screening of bacterial and fungal strains for cellulase and xylanase production using distillers dried grains with solubles as the feedstock. Northeast Agricultural and Biological Engineering Conference, Lac Beauport, QC, Canada. Abstract # 19-047.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Cetnar, D., Salis, and H. M. 2018. Systematic quantification of the sequence determinants controlling mRNA stability in bacterial operons, AIChE Annual Meeting, AIChE, Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Salis, H. M. 2018. Engineering RDX Riboswitches for Explosives-sensing Bacteria, DARPA SD2 Q4 Hackathon, DARPA, Boston, MA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Reis, A., Salis, H. M. 2018. Simultaneous regulation of many genes using highly non-repetitive extra-long sgRNA arrays. Engineering Biology Research Center Retreat, EBRC, Ft. Collins, Colorado.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Salis, H. M. 2018. Engineering Autonomous Sensors for Explosives. DARPA SD2 Q3 Hackathon, DARPA, Seattle, WA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Salis, H. M. 2018. Simultaneous Regulation of Many Genes using Highly Non-repetitive Extra Long sgRNA Arrays. Synthetic Biology Congress, Oxford Global, Boston, MA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Salis, H. M. 2018. Toolboxes of Highly Non-repetitive CRISPR Parts for Highly Multiplexed Applications. DARPA Safe Genes Program Review, DARPA, Tuscon, AZ.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hossain, A. Reis, A., Cetnar, D., Salis, H. M. 2018. The Non-Repetitive Parts Calculator: Thousands of Highly Non-repetitive Promoters for Synthetic Biology Applications. Engineering Biology Research Center Retreat, EBRC, Seattle, WA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Salis, H. M. 2019. Highly Scalable Multiplexed CRISPR Technologies for Medical, Industrial, and Agricultural Applications. DARPA Safe Genes Annual Meeting Meeting, DARPA, Bethesda, MD.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Salis, H. M. 2019. Highly Scalable Multiplexed CRISPR Technologies for Medical, Industrial, and Agricultural Applications. DARPA PREPARE Program Kick-off Meeting, DARPA, New York, NY.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Salis, H. M. 2019. Rapid Development of Acetogenic Clostridia using Highly Multiplexed Genome Engineering for Control of C1 Bioconversion. Genomic Sciences Program Annual Meeting, DOE, Tyson's Corner, VA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Hossain, A., and Salis, H. 2019. Automated Design of Non-Repetitive Genetic Parts: 4350 highly non-repetitive bacterial promoters, DARPA SD2 Q5 Workshop, DARPA, Austin, TX.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Reis, A., and Salis, H. M. 2018. Simultaneous regulation of many genes using highly non-repetitive extra-long sgRNA arrays. AIChE Annual Meeting, AIChE, Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Liang, X., J.M. Whitham, E.K. Holwerda, X. Shao, L. Tian, Y-W. Wu, V. Lombard, B. Henrissat, D.M. Klingeman, Z.K. Yang, M. Podar, T.L. Richard, J.G. Elkins, S.D. Brown, and L.R. Lynd. 2018. Development and characterization of stable anaerobic thermophilic methanogenic microbiomes fermenting switchgrass at decreasing residence times. Biotechnology and Biofuels 11:243.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Essien, D. M. Marshall, T.L. Richard, and A. Ray.. 2018. Corn stover reactivity to cellulolytic enzymes after wet storage. Frontiers in Energy Research 6:108.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Essien, D. and T.L. Richard. 2018. Wet ensiled storage enhances pretreatment and bioconversion of corn stover. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 6:195.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Dale, V.W., K.L. Kline, T.L. Richard, D.L. Karlen and W.W. Belden. 2018. Bridging biofuel sustainability indicators and ecosystem services through stakeholder engagement. Biomass and Bioenergy 114:143-156.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hoffman, E., Cavigelli, M.A., Camargo, G., Ryan, M., Ackroyd, V.J., Richard, T.L. and S. Mirsky. 2018. Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in organic and conventional grain crop production: Accounting for nutrient inflows. Agricultural Systems. 162:89-96.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Malone, R., S. Herbstritt, L. Ma, T.L. Richard, R. Cibin, P. Gassman, H. Zhang, D. Karlen, J. Hatfield, J. Obrycki, M.J. Helmers, D.B. Jaynes, T.C. Kaspar, T.B. Parkin, Q.X. Fang. 2019. Corn stover harvest N and energy budgets in central Iowa. Science of the Total Environment 663, 776-792.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Langholtz, M., Eaton, L., Davis, M., Shedden, M., Brandt, C., Volk, T., & T.L. Richard. 2019. Economic comparative advantage of willow biomass in the Northeast USA. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 13(1), 74-85.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Redcay, S., A. Koirala, J. Liu. 2018. Effects of roll and flail conditioning systems on mowing and baling of Miscanthus (giganteus) feedstock. Biosystems Engineering, Volume 172, 134-143.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Germec, M., M. Karhan, K.L. Bialka, A. Demirci, and I. Turhan. 2018. Mathematical modeling of lactic acid fermentation in bioreactor with carob extract. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology. 14: 254263.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Germec, M., M. Karhan, K.L. Bialka, A. Demirci, and I. Turhan. 2018. Ethanol production in biofilm reactor with non-sterile carob extract media and its modeling. Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects. 40(22): 2726-2734.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Germec, M., K-C. Cheng, M. Karhan, A. Demirci, and I. Turhan. 2019. Kinetic Modeling and Techno-economic Feasibility of Ethanol Production From Carob Extract Based Medium in Biofilm Reactor. Applied Sciences. 9(10), 2121.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Iram, A., Cekmecelioglu, D. and A. Demirci. 2019. Optimization of dilute sulfuric acid, aqueous ammonia, and steam explosion as the pretreatments steps for distillers dried grains with solubles as a potential fermentation feedstock. Bioresource Technology. 282:475-481.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2019 Citation: Cekmecelioglu, D. and A. Demirci. 2019. A statistical optimization study on dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) as a potential feedstock for fermentation applications. Waste and Biomass Valorization. In-print.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2019 Citation: Germec, M., K-C. Cheng, M. Karhan, A. Demirci, and I. Turhan. 2019. Application of mathematical models to ethanol fermentation in biofilm reactor with carob extract. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. In-print.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Leistra, A. N., Gelderman, G., Sowa, S. W., Moon-Walker, A., Salis, H. M., and Contreras, L. M. A 2018. Canonical Biophysical Model of the CsrA Global Regulator Suggests Flexible Regulator-Target Interactions. Scientific reports, 8(1), 9892.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Alexander C. Reis, Sean M. Halper, Grace E. Vezeau, Daniel P. Cetnar, Ayaan Hossain, Phillip R. Clauer and Howard M. Salis. 2019. Simultaneous repression of multiple bacterial genes using non-repetitive extra-long sgRNA arrays Nature Biotechnology. v37(10).
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Halper, Sean M., Daniel P. Cetnar, and Howard M. Salis. 2018. An automated pipeline for engineering many-enzyme pathways: Computational sequence design, pathway expression-flux mapping, and scalable pathway optimization. Synthetic Metabolic Pathways. Humana Press, New York, NY, pp 39-61.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Amador-Diaz, I. 2019. Anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic biomass via cotreatment: A technoeconomic analysis. M.S. Thesis. Pennsylvania State University.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Richard, T.L. Toward a Carbon Negative Bioeconomy: Status and Prospects for Renewable Energy in US Agriculture. The 20th Agriculture, Forestry and Food Industry Future Creation Forum. Korean Institute for Planning and Evaluation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry. December 7, 2018. Daejeon, South Korea.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Amador-Diaz et al. 2018. Cotreatment enhanced mixed culture fermentation of switchgrass. Presented at Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, Clearwater, FL.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Amador-Diaz et al. 2018. Mechanical cotreatment to enhance the anaerobic digestion of switchgrass. Presented at Institute of Biological Engineering annual meeting, Norfolk, VA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Herbstritt, S. K. Sciaudone, V. Vazhnik, D. Muth, F. Montes, A.R. Kemanian, J. Duncan, and T.L. Richard. 2018. Planting native perennial grasses in multifunctional riparian buffers for water quality and farm profitability. Presented at Institute of Biological Engineering annual meeting, Norfolk, VA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Herbstritt, S., K. Sciaudone, V. Vazhnik, D. Muth, F. Montes, A.R. Kemanian, J. Duncan, and T.L. Richard. 2018. Planting native perennial grasses in multifunctional riparian buffers for water quality and farm profitability. Presented at Energy Days, State College, PA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Amador-Diaz et al. 2018. Cotreatment enhanced mixed culture fermentation of switchgrass. Presented at Energy Days, State College, PA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Bharadwaj A., Whitham J., Brown S., Holwerda E., Lynd L.R., and T.L. Richard. 2018. Anaerobic digestion of lignocellulose using mixed microbial populations. Energy Days, State College, PA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Bharadwaj A., Whitham J., Brown S., Holwerda E., Lynd L.R., and T.L. Richard. 2018. Anaerobic digestion of lignocellulose using mixed microbial populations. Symposium for Biotechnology in Fuels and Chemicals, Clearwater, FL.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Bharadwaj A., Whitham J., Brown S., Holwerda E., Lynd L.R., and T.L. Richard. 2018. Anaerobic digestion of lignocellulose using mixed microbial populations. Center for Bioenergy Innovation Annual Meeting. Asheville, NC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Amador-Diaz et al. 2018. Fundamentals of Cotreatment: Engineering a ruminating reactor. Presented at Center for Bioenergy Innovation annual meeting, Asheville, NC.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Richard, T.L. Marginal Land Reconsidered: Risk and Resilience in Space and Time. Modeling Approaches to Develop Sustainable Biofuels: A Joint Bioenergy Research Center Workshop. Chicago, Ill.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Koirala, a., & Liu, J., 2018. Biomass Harvesting Systems for Energy Crops in the US: A Review on research trends. ASABE Annual International Meeting, Cobo Center, Detroit, MI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Liu, J. and Fasick, G. 2018. Miscanthus Mechanical Conditioning, ASABE Annual International Meeting, Cobo Center, Detroit, MI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Liu, J. 2018. Mechanical Properties of Miscanthus & Switchgrass. Northeast Agricultural and Biological Engineering Conference, Lakeview Golf Resort and Spa, Morgantown, WV.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Liu, J., A. Collins, J. Graybill, G. Roth. 2019. Industrial Hemp Planting, Harvesting and Decorticating  a review. ASABE Annual International Meeting, Boston Marriott Copley Place, Boston, MA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Liu, J. 2019. Field Performance Analysis of a Tractor and a Large Square Baler. Northeast Agricultural and Biological Engineering Conference, Lac-Beauport, Qu�bec Canada.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Cekmecelioglu, D. and A. Demirci. 2018. Evaluating fungal co-production of cellulase and xylanase enzymes at shake-flask scale using distillers dried grain with solubles (DDGS) and its validation in benchtop fermenters. ASABE Paper No. 1800332. American Society of Agricultural Engineers. St. Joseph, MI. 12 pp.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Cekmecelioglu, D. and A. Demirci. 2018. Evaluating fungal co-production of cellulase and xylanase enzymes at shake-flask scale using distillers dried grain with solubles (DDGS) and its validation in benchtop fermenters. 14th Conference of Food Engineering. Minneapolis, MN. Abstract # 102.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Iram, A., A. Demirci, and D. Cekmecelioglu. 2018. The evaluation of acid pretreatment of DDGS as a carbon source for microbial fermentation. Allegheny Branch of the American Society for Microbiology Meeting. Gettysburg, PA. Abstract # EnvGP2.