Bioproducts

Advanced materials and energy from renewable biomass such as energy cane and sweet sorghum have been targeted for our nation’s economic renewal and diversification efforts. Among the potential materials, nanocellulose extracted from isolated cellulose after biomass pretreatment stream with high purity, high crystallinity, large aspect ratio, high specific surface area, good potential for chemical modification, and ability to form self-assembled structures offers a plethora of opportunities for the development of advanced products. Lignin, often considered as a waste product, offers the possibility of post-fractioning modification or polymerization due its phenolic group abundance where Friedel-Crafts, esterification, isocyanate, and phenol/aldehyde chemistries can be applied to synthesize foams, plywood, resins, nano-particles and nano-composites. Non-toxic, biodegradable bioplastics such as polyesters utilizing the by-products from sugarcane industry, namely molasses and bagasse can be synthesized and used in skin and bone tissue engineering.