@article{barnum_paviani_couture_masarweh_chen_huang_markel_mills_lebrilla_barile_et al._2024, title={Engineered plants provide a photosynthetic platform for the production of diverse human milk oligosaccharides}, volume={6}, ISSN={["2662-1355"]}, DOI={10.1038/s43016-024-00996-x}, abstractNote={Abstract Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are a diverse class of carbohydrates which support the health and development of infants. The vast health benefits of HMOs have made them a commercial target for microbial production; however, producing the approximately 200 structurally diverse HMOs at scale has proved difficult. Here we produce a diversity of HMOs by leveraging the robust carbohydrate anabolism of plants. This diversity includes high-value and complex HMOs, such as lacto- N -fucopentaose I. HMOs produced in transgenic plants provided strong bifidogenic properties, indicating their ability to serve as a prebiotic supplement with potential applications in adult and infant health. Technoeconomic analyses demonstrate that producing HMOs in plants provides a path to the large-scale production of specific HMOs at lower prices than microbial production platforms. Our work demonstrates the promise in leveraging plants for the low-cost and sustainable production of HMOs.}, journal={NATURE FOOD}, author={Barnum, Collin R. and Paviani, Bruna and Couture, Garret and Masarweh, Chad and Chen, Ye and Huang, Yu-Ping and Markel, Kasey and Mills, David A. and Lebrilla, Carlito B. and Barile, Daniela and et al.}, year={2024}, month={Jun} }
 @article{wang_baral_yang_scown_2023, title={Co-Processing Agricultural Residues and Wet Organic Waste Can Produce Lower-Cost Carbon-Negative Fuels and Bioplastics}, url={https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c06674}, DOI={10.1021/acs.est.2c06674}, abstractNote={Scalable, low-cost biofuel and biochemical production can accelerate progress on the path to a more circular carbon economy and reduced dependence on crude oil. Rather than producing a single fuel product, lignocellulosic biorefineries have the potential to serve as hubs for the production of fuels, production of petrochemical replacements, and treatment of high-moisture organic waste. A detailed techno-economic analysis and life-cycle greenhouse gas assessment are developed to explore the cost and emission impacts of integrated corn stover-to-ethanol biorefineries that incorporate both codigestion of organic wastes and different strategies for utilizing biogas, including onsite energy generation, upgrading to bio-compressed natural gas (bioCNG), conversion to poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) bioplastic, and conversion to single-cell protein (SCP). We find that codigesting manure or a combination of manure and food waste alongside process wastewater can reduce the biorefinery’s total costs per metric ton of CO2 equivalent mitigated by half or more. Upgrading biogas to bioCNG is the most cost-effective climate mitigation strategy, while upgrading biogas to PHB or SCP is competitive with combusting biogas onsite.}, journal={Environmental Science & Technology}, author={Wang, Yan and Baral, Nawa R. and Yang, Minliang and Scown, Corinne D.}, year={2023}, month={Feb} }
 @article{huntington_baral_yang_sundstrom_scown_2023, title={Machine learning for surrogate process models of bioproduction pathways}, volume={370}, ISSN={0960-8524}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128528}, DOI={10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128528}, abstractNote={Technoeconomic analysis and life-cycle assessment are critical to guiding and prioritizing bench-scale experiments and to evaluating economic and environmental performance of biofuel or biochemical production processes at scale. Traditionally, commercial process simulation tools have been used to develop detailed models for these purposes. However, developing and running such models can be costly and computationally intensive, which limits the degree to which they can be shared and reproduced in the broader research community. This study evaluates the potential of an automated machine learning approach to develop surrogate models based on conventional process simulation models. The analysis focuses on several high-value biofuels and bioproducts for which pathways of production from biomass feedstocks have been well-established. The results demonstrate that surrogate models can be an accurate and effective tool for approximating the cost, mass and energy balance outputs of more complex process simulations at a fraction of the computational expense.}, journal={Bioresource Technology}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Huntington, Tyler and Baral, Nawa Raj and Yang, Minliang and Sundstrom, Eric and Scown, Corinne D.}, year={2023}, month={Feb}, pages={128528} }
 @article{yang_liu_baral_lin_simmons_gladden_eudes_scown_2022, title={Comparing
            <i>in planta
            accumulation with microbial routes to set targets for a cost-competitive bioeconomy}, volume={119}, ISSN={0027-8424 1091-6490}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2122309119}, DOI={10.1073/pnas.2122309119}, abstractNote={
            Plants and microbes share common metabolic pathways for producing a range of bioproducts that are potentially foundational to the future bioeconomy. However,
            in planta
            accumulation and microbial production of bioproducts have never been systematically compared on an economic basis to identify optimal routes of production. A detailed technoeconomic analysis of four exemplar compounds (4-hydroxybenzoic acid [4-HBA], catechol, muconic acid, and 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylic acid [PDC]) is conducted with the highest reported yields and accumulation rates to identify economically advantaged platforms and breakeven targets for plants and microbes. The results indicate that
            in planta
            mass accumulation ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 dry weight % (dwt%) can achieve costs comparable to microbial routes operating at 40 to 55% of maximum theoretical yields. These yields and accumulation rates are sufficient to be cost competitive if the products are sold at market prices consistent with specialty chemicals ($20 to $50/kg). Prices consistent with commodity chemicals will require an order-of-magnitude-greater accumulation rate for plants and/or yields nearing theoretical maxima for microbial production platforms. This comparative analysis revealed that the demonstrated accumulation rates of 4-HBA (3.2 dwt%) and PDC (3.0 dwt%) in engineered plants vastly outperform microbial routes, even if microbial platforms were to reach theoretical maximum yields. Their recovery and sale as part of a lignocellulosic biorefinery could enable biofuel prices to be competitive with petroleum. Muconic acid and catechol, in contrast, are currently more attractive when produced microbially using a sugar feedstock. Ultimately, both platforms can play an important role in replacing fossil-derived products.
          }, number={30}, journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, publisher={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, author={Yang, Minliang and Liu, Di and Baral, Nawa Raj and Lin, Chien-Yuan and Simmons, Blake A. and Gladden, John M. and Eudes, Aymerick and Scown, Corinne D.}, year={2022}, month={Jul} }
 @article{tian_yang_lin_park_wu_kakumanu_ben_dalton_vuu_shih_et al._2022, title={Correction to “Expression of Dehydroshikimate Dehydratase in Sorghum Improves Biomass Yield, Accumulation of Protocatechuate, and Biorefinery Economics”}, url={https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c05876}, DOI={10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c05876}, abstractNote={[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c01160.].}, journal={ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering}, author={Tian, Yang and Yang, Minliang and Lin, Chien-Yuan and Park, Joon-Hyun and Wu, Chuan-Yin and Kakumanu, Ramu and Ben, Christopher M. De and Dalton, Jutta and Vuu, Khanh M. and Shih, Patrick M. and et al.}, year={2022}, month={Oct} }
 @article{liu_yang_hermanowicz_huang_2022, title={Efficacy-Associated Cost Analysis of Copper-Based Nanopesticides for Tomato Disease Control}, volume={2}, ISSN={2692-1952 2692-1952}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsagscitech.2c00098}, DOI={10.1021/acsagscitech.2c00098}, abstractNote={Tomato poses the second-largest acreage among vegetables worldwide; however, its yields are severely lowered by more than 200 diseases. Compared to the conventional pesticides' high ecosystem risks, nanopesticides have emerged as an alternative with higher efficacy. Nevertheless, a systematic investigation on the efficacy and the associated cost analysis of nanopesticides and conventional pesticides is yet to be done, which is essential to evaluate the application of nanopesticides. Thus, we used Cu-based pesticides for controlling tomato disease as a case study to explore the efficacy and cost trade-offs between nano- and conventional analogues. Ten peer-reviewed papers were fully studied, and we extracted data on indicators, including percent efficacy of disease control (PEDC), active ingredients (AIs), concentration, application volume, application method of pesticides, and plant biomass. The material efficiency (i.e., dosages of pesticides applied per plant per unit efficacy) and cost-effectiveness (i.e., cost of pesticides applied per plant per unit efficacy) were calculated for comparative analysis. The findings indicated that the efficacy of Cu-based nanopesticides improved by 16–20%, with 4.3-fold material efficiency enhancement compared to conventional analogues, suggesting that Cu-based nanopesticides significantly reduced application dosages (i.e., using ∼1/5 dosages of conventional analogues) to achieve equivalent efficacy. In addition, Cu-based nanopesticides could promote plant biomass by approximately 40% more than conventional pesticides under diseases. CuO, Cu(OH)2, and GO–Cu nanopesticides could reduce cost per unit efficacy by 46.6, 11.6, and 46.8–83.4%, respectively. The size, shape, chemical composition, dosage, and application method of nanopesticides were revealed to be significant determinants of nanopesticides' efficacy using an ordinary least squares model. Our quantitative results identified the extent of advantages that Cu-based nanopesticides have over conventional products from technological efficacy and economic perspectives. This efficacy–cost study is the key evaluation prior to large-scale application of nanopesticides, contributing to the development of nanopesticides, the enhancement of crop production, and agricultural sustainability.}, number={4}, journal={ACS Agricultural Science & Technology}, publisher={American Chemical Society (ACS)}, author={Liu, Peiyuan and Yang, Minliang and Hermanowicz, Slav W. and Huang, Yuxiong}, year={2022}, month={Jul}, pages={796–804} }
 @article{tian_yang_lin_park_wu_kakumanu_de ben_dalton_vuu_shih_et al._2022, title={Expression of Dehydroshikimate Dehydratase in Sorghum Improves Biomass Yield, Accumulation of Protocatechuate, and Biorefinery Economics}, volume={10}, ISSN={2168-0485 2168-0485}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c01160}, DOI={10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c01160}, abstractNote={Engineering bioenergy crops to accumulate value-added coproducts in planta is an attractive approach to increasing the value of lignocellulosic biomass and enabling a sustainable bioeconomy. In this study, we engineered sorghum with a bacterial gene encoding a dehydroshikimate dehydratase (qsuB) to convert the endogenous pool of 3-dehydroshikimate into the valuable compound protocatechuate (DHBA). We find that, when grown under field conditions, transgenic sorghum lines can accumulate up to 0.3% DHBA in stover on a dry weight (DW) basis without showing any difference in cell wall composition. An unexpected finding was an increase in yield for all qsuB-expressing lines. The grain yield and total biomass yield were 71 and 29% higher in the highest yielding line, respectively. On average, the total biomass yield of the engineered lines was 22.3 t/ha (DW). Moreover, we conducted a techno-economic analysis to investigate the economic impact of coproducing DHBA along with bioethanol in an integrated cellulosic biorefinery. Using engineered biomass sorghum with 0.3 DW% DHBA accumulated in planta as the feedstock, the economics of the integrated biorefineries has the potential to be improved. Our data demonstrate an engineering strategy to overproduce DHBA in bioenergy crops to facilitate sustainable manufacturing of biofuels and bioproducts.}, number={38}, journal={ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering}, publisher={American Chemical Society (ACS)}, author={Tian, Yang and Yang, Minliang and Lin, Chien-Yuan and Park, Joon-Hyun and Wu, Chuan-Yin and Kakumanu, Ramu and De Ben, Christopher M. and Dalton, Jutta and Vuu, Khanh M. and Shih, Patrick M. and et al.}, year={2022}, month={Sep}, pages={12520–12528} }
 @article{achinivu_cabrera_umar_yang_baral_scown_simmons_gladden_2022, title={In Situ Synthesis of Protic Ionic Liquids for Biomass Pretreatment}, volume={10}, ISSN={2168-0485 2168-0485}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c01211}, DOI={10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c01211}, abstractNote={Ionic liquids (ILs) have emerged as versatile solvents that are facilitating advances in many industries such as energy storage, separations, and bioprocessing. Despite their great promise, the cost of many ILs remains excessively high, thus limiting their scalability and commercialization. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to develop a simple and integrated process for synthesizing protic ionic liquids (PILs) in situ, while utilizing them directly as pretreatment solvents for biomass deconstruction/biorefining. The in situ method eliminates the major steps associated with increased cost and carbon footprint, thereby yielding an economically advantaged and environmentally efficient process. The PIL hydroxyethylammonium acetate ([Eth][OAc]) was utilized in the pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of sorghum biomass with the in situ method, which demonstrated equivalent sugar yields relative to the presynthesized [Eth][OAc]. Techno-economic analysis demonstrated the economic advantage of the in situ synthesis over other PIL synthesis methods, due to its reduction of production costs up to $2.9/kg, while the life-cycle assessment showed the environmental efficiency of the process, yielding >30% reduction of GHG per kilogram of PIL. Therefore, this method demonstrates an improvement in the sustainability impact for the utilization of PILs for biomass pretreatment and other IL-utilizing processes.}, number={37}, journal={ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering}, publisher={American Chemical Society (ACS)}, author={Achinivu, Ezinne C. and Cabrera, Mica and Umar, Athiyya and Yang, Minliang and Baral, Nawa Raj and Scown, Corinne D. and Simmons, Blake A. and Gladden, John M.}, year={2022}, month={Sep}, pages={12090–12098} }
 @article{yang_dahlberg_baral_putnam_scown_2021, title={Identifying Forage Sorghum Ideotypes for Advanced Biorefineries}, volume={9}, ISSN={2168-0485 2168-0485}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c01706}, DOI={10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c01706}, abstractNote={Forage sorghum is a promising feedstock for the production of biofuels and bioproducts because it is drought tolerant, high-yielding, and familiar to farmers across the world. However, sorghum spans a diverse range of phenotypes, and it is unclear which are most desirable as bioenergy feedstocks. This paper explores four forage sorghum types, including brown-midrib (bmr), non-bmr, photoperiod sensitive (PS), and photoperiod insensitive (non-PS), from the perspective of their impact on minimum bioethanol selling price (MESP) at an ionic liquid pretreatment-based biorefinery. Among these types, there are tradeoffs between biomass yield, lignin content, and starch and sugar contents. High biomass-yielding PS varieties have previously been considered preferable for bioenergy production, but, if most starch and sugars from the panicle are retained during storage, use of non-PS sorghum may result in lower-cost biofuels (MESP of $1.26/L-gasoline equivalent). If advances in lignin utilization increase its value such that it can be dried and sold for $0.50/kg, the MESP for each scenario is lowered and non-bmr varieties become the most attractive option (MESP of $1.08/L-gasoline equivalent). While bmr varieties have lower lignin content, their comparatively lower biomass yield results in higher transportation costs that negate its fuel-yield advantage.}, number={23}, journal={ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering}, publisher={American Chemical Society (ACS)}, author={Yang, Minliang and Dahlberg, Jeff and Baral, Nawa Raj and Putnam, Daniel and Scown, Corinne D.}, year={2021}, month={Jun}, pages={7873–7881} }
 @article{baral_yang_harvey_simmons_mukhopadhyay_lee_scown_2021, title={Production Cost and Carbon Footprint of Biomass-Derived Dimethylcyclooctane as a High-Performance Jet Fuel Blendstock}, volume={9}, ISSN={2168-0485 2168-0485}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c03772}, DOI={10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c03772}, abstractNote={
 
 
 Near-term decarbonization of aviation requires energy-dense, renewable liquid fuels. Biomass-
derived 1,4-dimethylcyclooctane (DMCO), a cyclic alkane with a volumetric net heat of
combustion up to 9.2% higher than Jet-A, has the potential to serve as a low-carbon, high-
performance jet fuel blendstock that may enable paraffinic bio-jet fuels to operate without
aromatic compounds. DMCO can be produced from bio-derived isoprenol (3-methyl-3-buten-1-
ol) through a multi-step upgrading process. This study presents detailed process configurations
for DMCO production to estimate the minimum selling price and life-cycle greenhouse gas
(GHG) footprint considering three different hydrogenation catalysts and two bioconversion
pathways. The platinum-based catalyst offers the lowest production cost and GHG footprint of
$9.0/L-Jet-Aeq and 61.4 gCO2e/MJ, given the current state of technology. However, when the
conversion process is optimized, hydrogenation with a Raney nickel catalyst is preferable,
resulting in a $1.5/L-Jet-Aeq cost and 18.3 gCO2e/MJ GHG footprint if biomass sorghum is the
feedstock. This price point requires dramatic improvements, including 28 metric-ton/ha
sorghum yield and 95-98% of the theoretical maximum conversion of biomass-to-sugars,
sugars-to-isoprenol, isoprenol-to-isoprene, and isoprene-to-DMCO. Because increased
gravimetric energy density of jet fuels translates to reduced aircraft weight, DMCO also has the
potential to improve aircraft efficiency, particularly on long-haul flights.

 
 
}, number={35}, journal={ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering}, publisher={American Chemical Society (ACS)}, author={Baral, Nawa Raj and Yang, Minliang and Harvey, Benjamin G. and Simmons, Blake A. and Mukhopadhyay, Aindrila and Lee, Taek Soon and Scown, Corinne D.}, year={2021}, month={Aug}, pages={11872–11882} }
 @article{scown_baral_yang_vora_huntington_2021, title={Technoeconomic analysis for biofuels and bioproducts}, volume={67}, ISSN={0958-1669}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2021.01.002}, DOI={10.1016/j.copbio.2021.01.002}, abstractNote={Technoeconomic analysis (TEA) is an approach for conducting process design and simulation, informed by empirical data, to estimate capital costs, operating costs, mass balances, and energy balances for a commercial scale biorefinery. TEA serves as a useful method to screen potential research priorities, identify cost bottlenecks at the earliest stages of research, and provide the mass and energy data needed to conduct life-cycle environmental assessments. Recent studies have produced new tools and methods to enable faster iteration on potential designs, more robust uncertainty analysis, and greater accessibility through the use of open-source platforms. There is also a trend toward more expansive system boundaries to incorporate the impact of policy incentives, use-phase performance differences, and potential impacts on global market supply.}, journal={Current Opinion in Biotechnology}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Scown, Corinne D and Baral, Nawa Raj and Yang, Minliang and Vora, Nemi and Huntington, Tyler}, year={2021}, month={Feb}, pages={58–64} }
 @article{yang_baral_simmons_mortimer_shih_scown_2020, title={Accumulation of high-value bioproducts
            <i>in planta
            can improve the economics of advanced biofuels}, volume={117}, ISSN={0027-8424 1091-6490}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2000053117}, DOI={10.1073/pnas.2000053117}, abstractNote={Significance}, number={15}, journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, publisher={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, author={Yang, Minliang and Baral, Nawa Raj and Simmons, Blake A. and Mortimer, Jenny C. and Shih, Patrick M. and Scown, Corinne D.}, year={2020}, month={Mar}, pages={8639–8648} }
 @article{yang_baral_anastasopoulou_breunig_scown_2020, title={Cost and Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Implications of Integrating Biogas Upgrading and Carbon Capture Technologies in Cellulosic Biorefineries}, volume={54}, ISSN={0013-936X 1520-5851}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c02816}, DOI={10.1021/acs.est.0c02816}, abstractNote={Gaseous streams in biorefineries have been undervalued and underutilized. In cellulosic biorefineries, coproduced biogas is assumed to be combusted alongside lignin to generate process heat and electricity. Biogas can instead be upgraded to compressed biomethane and used as a transportation fuel. Capturing CO2-rich streams generated in biorefineries can also contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation goals. We explore the economic and life-cycle GHG impacts of biogas upgrading and CO2 capture and storage (CCS) at ionic liquid-based cellulosic ethanol biorefineries using biomass sorghum. Without policy incentives, biorefineries with biogas upgrading systems can achieve a comparable minimum ethanol selling price (MESP) and reduced GHG footprint ($1.38/liter gasoline equivalent (LGE) and 12.9 gCO2e/MJ) relative to facilities that combust biogas onsite ($1.34/LGE and 24.3 gCO2e/MJ). Incorporating renewable identification number (RIN) values advantages facilities that upgrade biogas relative to other options (MESP of $0.72/LGE). Incorporating CCS increases the MESP but dramatically decreases the GHG footprint (-21.3 gCO2e/MJ for partial, -110.7 gCO2e/MJ for full CCS). The addition of CCS also decreases the cost of carbon mitigation to as low as $52-$78/t CO2, depending on the assumed fuel selling price, and is the lowest-cost option if both RIN and California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard credits are incorporated.}, number={20}, journal={Environmental Science & Technology}, publisher={American Chemical Society (ACS)}, author={Yang, Minliang and Baral, Nawa Raj and Anastasopoulou, Aikaterini and Breunig, Hanna M. and Scown, Corinne D.}, year={2020}, month={Oct}, pages={12810–12819} }
 @article{yang_rosentrater_2020, title={Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of structural bio-adhesives derived from glycerol}, volume={26}, ISSN={0948-3349 1614-7502}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-020-01733-9}, DOI={10.1007/s11367-020-01733-9}, number={4}, journal={The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Yang, Minliang and Rosentrater, Kurt A.}, year={2020}, month={Feb}, pages={799–806} }
 @article{yang_rosentrater_2020, title={Economic feasibility analysis of commercial formaldehyde-based adhesives}, volume={2}, ISSN={2523-3963 2523-3971}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-3108-2}, DOI={10.1007/s42452-020-3108-2}, abstractNote={Formaldehyde-based adhesives have been used for several decades due to its convenience. In this paper, we aimed to explore the economics of urea–formaldehyde (UF) adhesives that can be used in wood panels. Two formaldehyde production pathways: metal oxide pathway and silver pathway, were compared in this study. SuperPro Designer v9.5 software was employed to perform the techno-economic analysis (TEA). Key parameters of TEA were calculated and compared of these two pathways, including total capital investment, annual operating cost and product revenues. It was found that the unit production cost of UF adhesive made from metal oxide pathway ($0.86/kg) was less expensive than that from silver pathway ($0.99/kg), but the total capital cost was slightly higher in metal oxide pathway (40 million $) than silver pathway (38 million $). Additionally, sensitivity analysis indicated that final product yield and material costs were the most sensitive factors among all inputs.}, number={7}, journal={SN Applied Sciences}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Yang, Minliang and Rosentrater, Kurt A.}, year={2020}, month={Jun} }
 @article{yang_rosentrater_2020, title={Life Cycle Assessment of Urea-Formaldehyde Adhesive and Phenol-Formaldehyde Adhesives}, volume={7}, ISSN={2198-7491 2198-7505}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40710-020-00432-9}, DOI={10.1007/s40710-020-00432-9}, number={2}, journal={Environmental Processes}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Yang, Minliang and Rosentrater, Kurt A.}, year={2020}, month={May}, pages={553–561} }
 @article{yang_rosentrater_2019, title={Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis of Pressure Sensitive Bio-Adhesive Production}, volume={12}, ISSN={1996-1073}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en12234502}, DOI={10.3390/en12234502}, abstractNote={Bioproducts have attracted much attention in recent years due to the increasing environmental concerns about petroleum products. In this study, we aimed to explore potential environmental impacts and economic feasibility of pressure sensitive bio-adhesive (PSA) produced from the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization process. A detail process model of pressure sensitive bio-adhesive was developed in order to thoroughly understand both economic and environmental impacts of this production process. Life cycle assessment results showed that the overall environmental impacts of bio-adhesive was ~30% lower compared to the petro-adhesive’s production process. The minimum selling price for this pressure sensitive bio-adhesive was calculated as $3.48/kg. Sensitivity analysis results indicated that raw materials costs had the most significant impact on pressure sensitive bio-adhesive’s selling price, followed by total capital investment. Electricity sources had larger environmental impacts to the overall bio-adhesive production process compared to transportation distance and product yield. These results highlight the environmental advantage and potential economic competency of this pressure sensitive bio-based adhesive.}, number={23}, journal={Energies}, publisher={MDPI AG}, author={Yang, Minliang and Rosentrater, Kurt A.}, year={2019}, month={Nov}, pages={4502} }
 @article{yang_rosentrater_2019, title={Techno-economic analysis of the production process of structural bio-adhesive derived from glycerol}, volume={228}, ISSN={0959-6526}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.288}, DOI={10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.288}, abstractNote={With increasing environmental concerns with respect to the petroleum-based adhesive production process, bio-based adhesive has been explored as a promising replacement. The purpose of this paper was to explore the economic feasibility of structural bio-adhesives made from glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel production. SuperPro Designer software was employed to perform the techno-economic analysis. Several key parameters were analyzed, such as total capital investment, annual operating costs and revenues. It was found that the unit production cost of structural bio-adhesives ($2.45/kg) was compatible with that in the current market. Three different scenarios were built to investigate the worst-case scenario and the best-case scenario associated with this production process. Sensitivity analysis was also performed to evaluate the key parameters significantly influencing the economic result. In this study, material cost was determined to be the most significant factor throughout the production process. Discounted cash flow analysis was conducted to explore the influence of the time value of money. The minimum selling price obtained was $3.11/kg for this bioadhesive production process. Underlying issues and areas needed for improvement were also discussed in this study.}, journal={Journal of Cleaner Production}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Yang, Minliang and Rosentrater, Kurt A.}, year={2019}, month={Aug}, pages={388–398} }
 @article{yang_zhang_rosentrater_2017, title={Anhydrous Ammonia Pretreatment of Corn Stover and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Glucan from Pretreated Corn Stover}, volume={3}, ISSN={2311-5637}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/fermentation3010009}, DOI={10.3390/fermentation3010009}, abstractNote={As a promising alternative of fossil fuel, ethanol has been widely used. In recent years, much attention has been devoted to bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. In previous research, it is found that the pretreatment method named low-moisture anhydrous ammonia (LMAA) has the advantage of high conversion efficiency and less washing requirements. The purpose of this study was to explore the optimal conditions by employing the LMAA pretreatment method. Corn stover was treated under three levels of moisture content: 20, 50, 80 w.b.% (wet basis), and three levels of particle size: 2 mm; it was also ammoniated with a loading rate of 0.1g NH3/g biomass (dry matter). Ammoniated corn stover was then subjected to different pretreatment times (24, 96, 168 h) and temperatures (20, 75, 130 °C). After pretreatment, compositional analysis and enzymatic digestibility were conducted to determine the highest glucose yield. As a result, the highest glucose yield was obtained under the condition of 96 h and 75 °C with 50 w.b.% and 0.09–2 mm of corn stover. The main findings of this study could improve the efficiency of bioethanol production processing in the near future.}, number={1}, journal={Fermentation}, publisher={MDPI AG}, author={Yang, Minliang and Zhang, Weitao and Rosentrater, Kurt}, year={2017}, month={Feb}, pages={9} }
 @article{yang_rosentrater_2017, title={Small-scale low-moisture anhydrous ammonia (LMAA) pretreatment of corn stover}, volume={97}, ISSN={0961-9534}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2016.12.013}, DOI={10.1016/j.biombioe.2016.12.013}, abstractNote={With many economic benefits, corn-based ethanol has been widely used in recent years. Cellulosic ethanol, however, require pretreatment to break down lingo-cellulosic structures prior to fermentation. Among all the pretreatment reagents that have been used, ammonia has proven to be one of the most effective, because it can readily delignify, swell, and preserve the polysaccharides. The purpose of this study was to determine optimal conditions (i.e. highest glucose yield) using the low-moisture anhydrous ammonia (LMAA) pretreatment process. In this experiment, corn stover was prepared with different moisture contents (20% w.b., 50% w.b., 80% w.b.) and particle sizes (9–30 mesh, 30–144 mesh). Corn stover was ammoniated for 30 min. Ammoniated corn stover was then subjected to different incubation times (24 h, 75 h, and 144 h) under different temperatures (20 °C, 70 °C, 120 °C). After that, compositional analyses, including moisture content, ash content, carbohydrates, and lignin content, were conducted. Enzymatic digestibility tests were also conducted. Results from this study will be used to improve the efficiency of pretreatment processing.}, journal={Biomass and Bioenergy}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Yang, Minliang and Rosentrater, Kurt A.}, year={2017}, month={Feb}, pages={38–42} }
 @article{cheng_yang_wang_2016, title={American’s Energy Future: An Analysis of the Proposed Energy Policy Plans in Presidential Election}, volume={9}, ISSN={1996-1073}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en9121000}, DOI={10.3390/en9121000}, abstractNote={As the leader of the largest economy, President of the United States has substantive influence on addressing climate change problems. However, a presidential election is often dominated by issues other than energy problems. This paper focuses on the 2016 presidential election, and examines the energy plans proposed by the leading Democrat and Republican candidates. Our data from the Iowa caucus survey in January 2016 suggests that voters were more concerned about terrorism and economic issues than environmental issues. We then compare the Democratic and Republican candidate's view of America's energy future, and evaluate their proposed renewable energy targets. We find that the view on renewable energy is polarized between Democratic and Republican candidates, while candidates from both parties agree on the need for energy efficiency. Results from our ordinal least squares regression models suggests that Democratic candidates have moderate to ambitious goals for developing solar and other renewables. The Republican candidates favor fossil fuels and they choose not to provide any specific target for developing renewable energy. In addition, this trend of party polarization has grown more significant when compared with the past three presidential elections. Our observation suggests that energy policies need to be discussed more often regarding the diversification and decarbonization of the nation's energy system.}, number={12}, journal={Energies}, publisher={MDPI AG}, author={Cheng, Ming-Hsun and Yang, Minliang and Wang, Yu}, year={2016}, month={Nov}, pages={1000} }
 @article{yang_rosentrater_2016, title={Comparison of sealing and open conditions for long term storage of corn stover using low-moisture anhydrous ammonia pretreatment method}, volume={91}, ISSN={0926-6690}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.07.028}, DOI={10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.07.028}, abstractNote={As a promising material for bioethanol production, corn stover has been studied under various pretreatment methods prior to production of bioethanol. However, the storage of pretreated corn stover is still challenged by both weather conditions and the physical properties of its own. The main objective of this experiment is to evaluate the effect of low-moisture anhydrous ammonia (LMAA) pretreatment method on biomass quality during long periods of storage. In this study, corn stover was contacted with various ammonia loadings (0, 0.1, and 0.2 g/g DM biomass) and moisture content (20 wt.%, 40 wt.%, and 60 wt.%) from 1 day to 90 days both in sealed and open containers. As a result, the mass loss in sealed container increased with time; however, the mass loss in open container was affected by the conditions of the environment. In terms of the carbohydrate, no significant reduction was observed in either sealed or open containers.}, journal={Industrial Crops and Products}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Yang, Minliang and Rosentrater, Kurt A.}, year={2016}, month={Nov}, pages={377–381} }
 @article{yang_rosentrater_2015, title={Techno-economic analysis (TEA) of low-moisture anhydrous ammonia (LMAA) pretreatment method for corn stover}, volume={76}, ISSN={0926-6690}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2015.06.023}, DOI={10.1016/j.indcrop.2015.06.023}, abstractNote={Techno-economic analysis (TEA) plays an important role in assessing economic performance and potential market acceptance for new technologies. Previous work has shown that the construction and operation of a cellulosic bioethanol plant can be very expensive. One of the largest cost categories is pretreatment processing. The purpose of this study was to conduct a detailed cost analysis to assess low moisture anhydrous ammonia (LMAA) pretreatment process at the commercial-scale, and to estimate the breakeven point in large-scale production. In this study, capital expenses, including annualized purchase and installation fees, and annual operating costs associated with each unit operation were determined. The lowest unit cost obtained from this study was $3.86/gal, but it was still high compared with current gasoline price.}, journal={Industrial Crops and Products}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Yang, Minliang and Rosentrater, Kurt A.}, year={2015}, month={Dec}, pages={55–61} }