Welcome to the BioProducts Engineering Laboratory

The BioProducts Engineering Laboratory is housed in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.

Our research focused developing the knowledge base and fundamental understanding required to rationally design technologies that recycle carbon that is otherwise a waste stream and produce bioproducts (e.g., liquid fuels, chemicals, and materials) that are important to society. The BioProducts Engineering Laboratory is dedicated to the science and engineering of deriving value-added products from dedicated energy crops, agricultural residues, forest residues, plastic waste streams, etc. using catalytic, thermal, and biological conversion processes. However, the emergence of a sustainable waste-to-bioproducts industry significantly depends on our ability to advance technologies that improve product diversity, value, and yield.

We invite you to take a learn more about the BioProducts Engineering Laboratory.

The BioProducts Engineering Laboratory research emerging technologies for exploitation of biomass as a sustainable source for energy, chemicals and materials production:

  • Catalytic depolymerization of biopolymers and plastic waste polymers into value-added products
  • Interfacing biological upgrading with catalytic depolymerization of biopolymers
  • Novel methods of biomass characterization
  • Synthesis and characterization of biomass-derived monomers, polymers, and composites

Open Lab Positions (2022-2023)

  • 1-2 PhD student position: depolymerization of lignin or upcycling waste plastics into valuable monomeric products
  • 1 PhD student position: fabrication of nanocellulose-based adhesive composite
  • 1-2 undergraduate positions available (Fall 2022 slots are full)

Major interest

  • Heterogeneous and liquid-phase catalysis
  • Biopolymer depolymerization
  • Operando NMR spectroscopy
  • Biomass and biomass depolymerization product characterization
  • Renewable synthetic polymers
  • Lignin chemistry
  • Mechanobiology