@article{forfora_azuaje_vivas_vera_brito_venditti_kelley_tu_woodley_gonzalez_2024, title={Evaluating biomass sustainability: Why below-ground carbon sequestration matters}, volume={439}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.140677}, DOI={10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.140677}, abstractNote={Biomass, as a raw material, has been identified as a crucial component of decarbonization strategies to mitigate climate change. Decisions on which biomass should be targeted for different purposes are dependent on variables such as availability, chemical composition, and sustainability. Consumer perception often positions non-wood sources, such as bamboo, as environmentally preferable feedstocks for fiber-based product production. Yet, this perceived environmental benefit lacks robust scientific substantiation and standardized methodologies. This study addresses this gap by conducting a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of twelve biomass production systems encompassing tree plantations, dedicated crops, and agricultural residues for energy and bioproducts manufacture. The evaluated feedstocks include southern softwood, wheat straw, rice straw, rice husk, hemp hurd, sugarcane bagasse, switchgrass, biomass sorghum (United States), eucalyptus (Brazil), bamboo (China), and northern softwood (Canada). Incorporating a critical yet often overlooked factor, this LCA integrates the potential soil organic carbon sequestration (SOC) via below-ground biomass for each biomass type. This consideration significantly alters the estimated carbon intensity per ton of feedstock, potentially reshaping sustainability perceptions as certain systems emerge as carbon sinks. From a cradle-to-farm gate perspective, the assessed global warming potential for biomass production spans 12–245 kg CO2eq per oven-dry ton (ODt), factoring only anthropogenic emissions. However, when accounting for SOC sequestration, the range shifts to −170 to 228 kg CO2eq per ODt, highlighting potential the role of biomass to act as carbon sink systems. By illuminating the dynamic influence of SOC sequestration, this study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of biomass-related carbon emissions, shedding light on pathways to mitigate environmental impact.}, journal={Journal of Cleaner Production}, author={Forfora, Naycari and Azuaje, Ivana and Vivas, Keren A. and Vera, Ramon E. and Brito, Amelys and Venditti, Richard and Kelley, Stephen and Tu, Qingshi and Woodley, Alex and Gonzalez, Ronalds}, year={2024}, month={Jan} }
 @article{marquez_ortiz_barrios_vera_patiño‐agudelo_vivas_salas_zambrano_theiner_2024, title={Surfactants produced from carbohydrate derivatives: Part 2. A review on the value chain, synthesis, and the potential role of artificial intelligence within the biorefinery concept}, volume={5}, url={https://doi.org/10.1002/jsde.12766}, DOI={10.1002/jsde.12766}, abstractNote={Abstract This comprehensive and critical review explores the synthesis and applications of carbohydrate‐based surfactants within the biorefinery concept, focusing on biobased sugar‐head molecules suitable for use across several manufacturing sectors, including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, household products, detergents, and foods. The main focus relies on sustainable alternatives to conventional surfactants, which could reduce the final manufacturing carbon footprint of several industrial feedstocks and products. A thorough analysis of raw materials, highlighting the significance of feedstock sources, and the current biobased surfactants and rhamnolipid biosurfactants production trends, is presented. Key organic reactions for the production of sorbitan esters, sucrose esters, alkyl polyglycosides, and fatty acid glucamines, such as glycosidation, acylation, and etherification, as well as the production of rhamnolipids through fermentation are described. Given the scarce literature on the characterization of these surfactant types within the hydrophilic–lipophilic deviation (HLD) framework, the surfactant contribution parameter (SCP) in the HLD equation for sugar‐head surfactants is critically assessed. The economic landscape is also discussed, noting the significant growth in the biobased surfactants and biosurfactant market, driven by environmental awareness and regulatory changes, with projections indicating a substantial market increase in the forthcoming years. Finally, the promising potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in developing customized surfactant molecules, with optimized properties for targeted applications, is emphasized as a promising avenue for future research.}, journal={Journal of Surfactants and Detergents}, author={Marquez, Ronald and Ortiz, Maria S. and Barrios, Nelson and Vera, Ramon E. and Patiño‐Agudelo, Álvaro Javier and Vivas, Keren A. and Salas, Mariangeles and Zambrano, Franklin and Theiner, Eric}, year={2024}, month={May} }
 @article{marquez_barrios_vera_mendez_tolosa_zambrano_li_2023, title={A Perspective on The Synergistic Potential of Artificial Intelligence and Product-Based Learning Strategies in Biobased Materials Education}, volume={5}, ISSN={1749-7728}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2023.05.005}, DOI={10.1016/j.ece.2023.05.005}, abstractNote={The integration of product-based learning strategies in Materials in Chemical Engineering education is crucial for students to gain the skills and competencies required to thrive in the emerging circular bioeconomy. Traditional materials engineering education has often relied on a transmission teaching approach, in which students are expected to passively receive information from instructors. However, this approach has shown to be inadequate under the current circumstances, in which information is readily available and innovative tools such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality environments are becoming widespread (e.g., metaverse). Instead, we consider that a critical goal of education should be to develop aptitudes and abilities that enable students to generate solutions and products that address societal demands. In this work, we propose innovative strategies, such as product-based learning methods and GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) artificial intelligence text generation models, to modify the focus of a Materials in Chemical Engineering course from non-sustainable materials to sustainable ones, aiming to address the critical challenges of our society. This approach aims to achieve two objectives: first to enable students to actively engage with raw materials and solve real-world challenges, and second, to foster creativity and entrepreneurship skills by providing them with the necessary tools to conduct brainstorming sessions and develop procedures following scientific methods. The incorporation of circular bioeconomy concepts, such as renewable resources, waste reduction, and resource efficiency into the curriculum provides a framework for students to understand the environmental, social, and economic implications in Chemical Engineering. It also allows them to make informed decisions within the circular bioeconomy framework, benefiting society by promoting the development and adoption of sustainable technologies and practices.}, journal={Education for Chemical Engineers}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Marquez, Ronald and Barrios, Nelson and Vera, Ramon and Mendez, Maria E. and Tolosa, Laura and Zambrano, Franklin and Li, Yali}, year={2023}, month={May}, pages={164–180} }
 @article{vera_zambrano_marquez_vivas_forfora_bedard_farrell_ankeny_pal_jameel_et al._2023, title={Environmentally friendly oxidation pretreatments to produce sugar-based building blocks from dyed textile wastes via enzymatic hydrolysis}, volume={467}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2023.143321}, DOI={10.1016/j.cej.2023.143321}, abstractNote={Given the increasing concern over textile waste management and the proliferation of textile landfills, enzymatic hydrolysis of cotton represents a potential pathway to upcycle textile waste into valuable chemical building blocks. However, this pathway is challenged by the presence of persistent dyes, hindering enzyme performance. To overcome this issue, environmentally friendly and total chlorine free oxidation methods such as ozone and alkaline hydrogen peroxide were used in combination with mechanical refining pretreatment. The results showed that the enzymatic conversion of black-dyed cotton, without oxidation, resulted in a glucose yield of only 60% as compared to 95% for undyed cotton fibers. On the other hand, the inclusion of oxidation processes in the pretreatment stage resulted in a glucose yield of 90% via enzymatic hydrolysis at expense of using low oxidation chemicals and low enzyme charges. This work highlights the potential of oxidation methods, enzymatic hydrolysis, and mechanical refining as an ecofriendly pathway for generating value-added chemicals from cotton textile waste while promoting economic circularity.}, journal={Chemical Engineering Journal}, author={Vera, Ramon E. and Zambrano, Franklin and Marquez, Ronald and Vivas, Keren A. and Forfora, Naycari and Bedard, John and Farrell, Matthew and Ankeny, Mary and Pal, Lokendra and Jameel, Hasan and et al.}, year={2023}, month={May} }
 @article{vera_vivas_urdaneta_franco_sun_forfora_frazier_gongora_saloni_fenn_et al._2023, title={Transforming non-wood feedstocks into dissolving pulp via organosolv pulping: An alternative strategy to boost the share of natural fibers in the textile industry.}, volume={429}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139394}, DOI={10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139394}, abstractNote={This work evaluates wheat straw, switchgrass, and hemp hurd as potential alternatives for producing dissolving pulp using sulfur dioxide (SO2)-ethanol-water (SEW) pulping. The SEW process is described in detail for wheat straw, and the best pulping conditions for this feedstock were 130 °C, 4 h, and 10% SO2 concentration, comprised in a sulfur-ethanol-water ratio of 10-45-45. This resulted in a viscose-grade pulp with 93% α-cellulose, 2.0% hemicelluloses, <0.1% lignin, 0.2% ash content, and a viscosity of 4.7 cP. The best pulping conditions for wheat straw were applied to switchgrass and hemp hurd. Wheat straw and switchgrass had similar pulp quality, while hemp hurd pulp had a higher hemicellulose content and lower viscosity. This work suggests that non-wood feedstocks such as wheat straw and switchgrass can be promising alternatives for dissolving pulp production, which can help reduce the pressure on the textile industry to increase the use of natural fibers and mitigate the environmental impact of non-biodegradable synthetic fibers.}, journal={Journal of Cleaner Production}, author={Vera, Ramon E. and Vivas, Keren A. and Urdaneta, Fernando and Franco, Jorge and Sun, Runkun and Forfora, Naycari and Frazier, Ryen and Gongora, Stephanie and Saloni, Daniel and Fenn, Larissa and et al.}, year={2023}, month={Oct} }
 @article{hubbe_szlek_vera_2022, title={Detergency mechanisms and cellulosic surfaces: A review}, DOI={10.15376/biores.17.4.Hubbe}, abstractNote={The release of soils and impurities from cellulosic surfaces plays a critical role in such processes as the laundering of clothes and the deinking of wastepaper pulps. This article reviews publications that provide evidence about factors that affect such release and the mechanisms by which such factors operate. In general, cellulosic substrates provide advantages for the release of contaminants due to their hydrophilic nature and due to their permeability, allowing the transport of surfactants to contact interfaces with dirt. However, the same permeability of cellulosic material also provides opportunities for contaminants to work themselves into internal crevices and pores, from which they are difficult to remove. The article also reviews aspects of theory related to detergency and how those theories relate to the laundering, deinking, and purifying of substrates based on cellulose and related plant materials. Cellulose and some of its derivatives also can play a role in detergent formulation, especially as builders or as finishes placed on textile surfaces, which sometimes aid in the release of dirt.}, journal={BioResources}, author={Hubbe, Martin A. and Szlek, Dorota B. and Vera, Ramon E.}, year={2022}, month={Jan} }
 @article{zambrano_marquez_vera_jameel_venditti_gonzalez_2022, title={Developing Alternative, High-Absorbency Brown Fibers: Tissue Paper from Upcycled Corrugated Packaging Waste to Meet New Consumer Trends}, volume={9}, url={https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c03280}, DOI={10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c03280}, abstractNote={Consumers’ rising interest in brown tissue papers, perceived as sustainable, has increased the market share and selling prices of such products despite their limited performance. Meanwhile, the current excess of packaging waste in the US has created an opportunity for using old corrugated containerboard (OCC) as an alternative source of brown pulp, despite its inferior tissue-making characteristics relative to bleached fibers. Strength, water absorption capacity, and absorption rate are among the crucial properties of absorbent tissue products. Herein, we studied the feasibility of total chlorine-free treatments, namely, oxygen delignification, alkaline hydrogen peroxide, and ozonation, to improve the tissue-making quality of OCC pulp. The processes evaluated reduced the lignin content (kappa number from 89 to values as low as 55) and generated brightness gains as high as 8.8% ISO units. The strength of the sheets also improved due to the delignification and increase in fiber swelling. Chemically treated OCC resulted in sheets with higher water absorption capacity and absorption rate and fiber slurries with higher freeness compared to sheets and slurries from mechanically refined OCC. Therefore, we demonstrate the application of treatments with low environmental impact to upcycle OCC into a high-quality brown pulp suitable for manufacturing high-performance tissue paper.}, number={40}, journal={ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering}, author={Zambrano, Franklin and Marquez, Ronald and Vera, Ramon and Jameel, Hasan and Venditti, Richard and Gonzalez, Ronalds}, year={2022}, month={Sep}, pages={13343–13356} }
 @article{pawlak_frazier_vera_wang_gonzalez_2022, title={Review: The softness of hygiene tissue}, DOI={10.15376/biores.17.2.Pawlak}, abstractNote={The hygiene tissue industry has an extensive global market that is quickly growing. Market research has indicated that softness is one of consumers’ most highly desired properties. For certain hygiene tissue products (specifically bath tissue), this property can influence prices. A better understanding of the science of softness would allow companies to engineer soft tissue more economically and efficiently. Softness is a subjective perception related to physical aspects that make it challenging to express and measure. Human handfeel panel testing, which ranks the specimens through physical tests, has been recognized as the most reliable method to measure tissue softness. Much effort has been expanded in correlating the panel test results with some measurable properties. In this regard, equipment has been recently developed by combining several different mechanical, surface, and acoustic properties to characterize softness. In comparison with panel tests, these instruments (e.g., tissue softness analyzer) have been found to give equivalent softness metrics. A combination of materials selection and manufacturing operations are used to create softer tissue sheets. This paper reviews the sensation of softness as perceived by the human touch, techniques for measuring softness, the influence of fiber on softness, manufacturing techniques, and additives used for softness enhancement.}, journal={BioResources}, author={Pawlak, Joel J. and Frazier, Ryen and Vera, Ramon E. and Wang, Yuhan and Gonzalez, Ronalds}, year={2022}, month={Mar} }
 @article{vera_suarez_zambrano_marquez_bedard_vivas_pifano_farrell_ankeny_jameel_et al._2022, title={Upcycling cotton textile waste into bio-based building blocks through an environmentally friendly and high-yield conversion process}, volume={189}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106715}, DOI={10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106715}, abstractNote={This work presents mechanical refining as a chemical-free pretreatment of cotton textile waste to be converted into glucose via enzymatic hydrolysis. Both Cellic® CTec2 and CTec3 cellulase enzymes were evaluated to perform the enzymatic hydrolysis. Mechanical refining enabled cotton fiber fibrillation, thus increasing its specific surface area, water swellability, enzyme adsorption, and the efficiency of cotton conversion into sugars. Compared to conventional pretreatments, mechanical refining promoted sugar yields above 90% after enzymatic hydrolysis at lower enzyme usage (4–6 FPU/O.D g). From experimental data, a non-linear model was developed to predict cotton conversion. The predictive model allowed the optimization of the conversion process, which resulted in maximum yields of 89.3 and 98.3% when CTec2 and CTec3 were respectively used. Results from this work open the window to deploy mechanical refining as a promising and more sustainable transformation approach to produce sugar-based building blocks within the circular economy framework of textile waste.}, journal={Resources Conservation and Recycling}, author={Vera, Ramon E. and Suarez, Antonio and Zambrano, Franklin and Marquez, Ronald and Bedard, John and Vivas, Keren A. and Pifano, Alonzo and Farrell, Matthew and Ankeny, Mary and Jameel, Hasan and et al.}, year={2022}, month={Nov} }