SUBI-Sustainable Bioproducts Initiative-LSU AgCenter

08/04/2022

LSU AgCenter to expand bioproducts, bioprocessing research with new grant
Tobie Blanchard

(08/03/22) Baton Rouge, La. — The Louisiana Board of Regents has awarded the LSU AgCenter Louisiana Institute for Bioproducts and Bioprocessing (LIBBi) a grant of nearly $1 million to upgrade equipment for the state-approved institute.

LIBBi and the scientists that work with it are dedicated to expanding and strengthening Louisiana’s role in developing novel bioproducts and new technologies from the state’s forestry and agricultural industries, said Qinglin Wu, professor in the AgCenter School of Renewable Natural Resources and the lead scientist on the grant.

“Louisiana has a lot of biofiber resources,” Wu said. “The wood products industry is one of the largest industries in the state, and the agricultural industry produces a lot of fibers such as sugarcane fibers.”

Wu said the institute’s work would add value to forestry and agriculture while creating sustainable products.

The LIBBi team also includes Gillian Eggleston and Giovanna Aita with the Audubon Sugar Institute; Dorin Boldor, Cristina Sabliov and Todd Monroe with the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering; and Achyut Adhikari with the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences.

Wu said researchers across the LSU campus would have access to the 12 pieces of state-of-the-art equipment tied to the grant, allowing the institute to support other programs such as engineering and chemistry. Some of the equipment includes an advanced imaging device for chemical structures, extraction devices for chemical compounds, nanomaterial fabrication and characterization equipment, and advanced tools to assist the industry with process improvement.

The scientists will build on the successes they have already had with bioproduct development. Wu is looking to create new sustainable products such as his TigerBullets-Nano, which is a plastic-free composition that prevents lost circulation in oil-drilling wells.

Work at the Audubon Sugar Institute provides the Louisiana sugar industry new tools for quality and process control in its sugar manufacturing process. Boldor is developing biomass fractionation technologies for advanced chemicals and material using microwave energy. Sabliov is using lignin, a byproduct of the paper industry, to create nanoparticles that can target fungicides to soybean seeds in an efficient and environmentally safe method.

“We are looking at more sustainable ways to replace some single-use plastics with these bioproducts, or we can use these sustainable nanofibers to build new batteries to advance energy storage materials,” Wu said.

Other research includes working with biomedical products and materials with Monroe’s team and functional foods with Adhikari’s team.

The long-term goal for this project is to develop LIBBi as a centralized facility within the LSU AgCenter and LSU Baton Rouge campus for coordinating research, teaching and technology transfer efforts in biocompounds, biopolymers, functional foods and nanomaterials from sustainable resources in Louisiana.

8/3/2022 7:11:45 PM

08/20/2021

A collaborative research project: Nano-Engineered Superwood for Resilient Foundation System under the direction of Dr. Hai Lin (LSU Civil Engineering) and Dr. Qinglin Wu (LSU Agcenter RNR) is being funded by NSF's CMMI Division. Superwood is a densified wood material produced by partially delignifying natural wood and subsequent densification through hot-pressing. Superwood production is potentially sustainable and cost-effective as it avoids energy-intensive manufacturing processes associated with Portland cement and steel. The strength and elastic modulus of superwood are not only superior to those of natural wood, but also could exceed those of concrete. Superwood also has excellent durability against moisture-induced decay and insects such as termites with minimal strength reduction. The remarkable properties of superwood are expected to enable superwood piles to mitigate the disadvantages of current timber piles (e.g., low structural capacity, vulnerability to damage during hard-driving, and susceptibility to decay) and to exceed the performance of timber and concrete piles for both service and strength limit states. In the project, we seek to develop and optimize processing conditions for producing superwood piles in relation to their mechanical/structural properties and long-term durability performance including decay and termite resistances. This research will help promote further development of superwood in geotechnical engineering, including ground improvements, retaining walls, and support of excavation structures, and will also help add values to wood and wood products.

06/16/2021

Greenville, SC — The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment), in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, announces the awarding of $2.4 million in grants to accelerate the use of nanocellulosic materials across various industries to use in a range of applications.
The partnership is funding ten projects ranging from $50,000 to $500,0000 and lasting one to three years.

Cellulosic nanomaterials are made by breaking down renewable wood from trees into particles less than 1/1000th the thickness of a human hair. These materials are as strong as steel, yet only one-fifth the weight. They can be used to protect, enhance, and strengthen many commercial materials.

“The Endowment is working to keep our forests healthy, valuable, and intact. We believe markets are essential to forest conservation, as markets help bring forests additional value. Cellulosic nanomaterials are a new market with tremendous economic potential, along with solutions squarely aimed at reducing the impacts of climate change.” said Michael Goergen, Endowment Vice President, Innovation and Director, P3Nano.

Cellulosic nanomaterials have a wide range of uses and are low cost, sustainable, and abundant. They are offering multiple industries sustainable solutions that can strengthen materials, develop safer materials and even reduce carbon footprints.

The project "TigerBullets-Nano: Cellulose Nanomaterials Mediated Fluid Additive for Energy Industry" is funded at $500,000. Congratulations to our HolePluggers and LSU AgCenter team!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (June 10, 2021) Greenville, SC — The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment), in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, announces the awarding of $2.4 million in grants to accelerate the use of nanocellulosic materials acros...

04/29/2021

Our recent review on rheological properties of cellulose nanomaterial..

04/29/2021

Our recent work on self charging battery with sustainable nanomaterial.

11/13/2020

Rheological Aspects of Cellulose Nanomaterials: Governing Factors and Emerging Applications

Mei-Chun Li, Qinglin Wu, Robert J. Moon, Martin A. Hubbe, and Michael J. Bortner
DOI:10.1002/adma.202006052
Advanced Materials (Impact Factor =27.3)

Cellulose nanomaterials (CNMs) are a new class of cellulose particles being developed for applications once thought impossible for cellulosic materials. Their tunable viscosity, yield stress, viscoelasticity, as well as profound shear-thinning and thixotropic behaviors have enabled them to be effective rheology modifiers. This review systematically describes the dependence of CNM rheology on a wide spectrum of parameters and the application of CNMs as rheology modifiers in several emerging industrial sectors including 3D printing inks, personal care products, food products, coatings and paints, cementitious products, and oilfield service fluids.

08/10/2020

Dr. Wu's team at the LSU AgCenter recently published a paper in ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering to demonstrate how sustainable cellulose nanomaterial from tree and plant fibers can be used in oil industry to formulate smart drilling fluids. The work is being supported by USDA, Louisiana Board of Regents and Industry.

06/17/2020

Plastics recycling bill introduced to Congress

Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives have put forth legislation focused on reducing plastic waste and bolstering plastics recycling. The Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Act, introduced on June 16, 2020, directs various federal agencies and offices to take steps to support plastics recycling.

For example, it directs the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy to create a new program to “improve the global competitiveness of the United States plastics recycling industry, ensure U.S. leadership in plastics waste reduction and recycling research, ensure U.S. leadership in national and international standards development, and reduce the harmful effects of plastic waste,” according to the bill summary.

It also directs the federal government to create a plastic waste reduction plan and develop standards for plastics recycling technologies. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Reps. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and Anthony Gonzaler, R-Ohio. Stevens, who is chairwoman of the House Science Subcommittee on Research and Technology, helped launch the Congressional Plastics Solutions Task Force in December.

“In 2018, the U.S. woke up to the fragile predicament of our plastic waste management system,” Stevens stated in a press release. “No longer able to ship our plastic waste to international markets, U.S. cities were forced to cut longstanding recycling programs. Instead, they had to resort to incinerating recyclables or tossing them in landfills. There are plenty of reasons for why and how we got here; however, a major factor is because we failed as a nation to invest in domestic recycling infrastructure and policies to account for the growing demand for plastic.”

The American Chemistry Council issued a statement strongly in support of the bill. The legislation joins a number of other bills currently in Congress that focus on plastics and recycling.

03/10/2020

3D gel printing

03/10/2020

03/10/2020

Nanocellulose including cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) isolated from natural resources are being used extensively in the material and biomedical field, e.g. for nanocomposites, tissue engineering, implants, drug delivery systems, and wound healing due to their remarkable mechanical, chemical and biocompatible properties. 3D printing of nanocellulose in combination with polymers is being studied as a viable route to produce these materials. The printability of nanocellulose hydrogels owing to their shear thinning behavior and the possibility to develop complex composite structure and to support living cells allows 3D bioprinting using nanocellulose, which represents a recent development with tremendous potential.
A short workshop was held in the School of Renewable Natural Resources, LSU AgCenter to demonstrate the latest gel printing technology by CELLLINK with their Lumen X and BioX machines. Discussion was made to print nanocellulose materials for different applications.

02/13/2020