Biofuels and Carbohydrates Laboratory (Zhang Lab)

My mission is to solve key problems associated with the sustainability revolution through out-of-the-box solutions, which are based on well-known technologies while look like crazy ideas.

• To replace non-renewable crude oil mainly used in the transportation sector, I propose the use of carbohydrates (CH2O) as a high-hydrogen-density carrier and an energy source. As a result, we will kill four birds of the hydrogen economy by one stone: low-cost renewable hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, costly infrastructure, and safety concerns [1,2].

• To feed the world, we have accomplished the low-cost conversion of non-food cellulosic biomass to edible starch based on emerging cellulosic biorefineries. Also, we are working on artificial photosynthesis, surpassing the plant photosynthesis by 20-50 fold in solar energy-to-carbohydrate efficiency and by 500-1000 fold in clean water conservation [3].

• To break the biomass recalcitrance, I have invented a cellulose solvent- and organic solvent-based lignocellulose fractionation (COSLIF) [4]. As a result, we can obtained the highest sugar yields and separate lignocellulose components at the same time. This technology is being tested in 25-MM invested pilot plant in southern Virginia.

• To power portable electronics with bioinspired batteries featuring unmatched energy storage densities, environmental friendliness, and safety, we are developing enzymatic fuel cells that can completely oxidize hexoses for the generation of 24 electrons for the first time.

• To survive the humankind in emergencies, such as nuclear winter, ice age, space travel, I propose to develop the Electrcity-Carbohydrate-Hydrogen (ECHo) cycle, which can meet four basic needs: air, water, food and energy.

Further readings:

[1] Zhang Y-HP*. 2009. A sweet out-of-the-box solution to the hydrogen economy: Is sugar-powered car science fiction? Energy and Environmental Science 2: 272-282 (PDF).

[2] Zhang Y-HP*. 2010. Renewable carbohydrates are a potential high density hydrogen carrier. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 35:10334-10342 (PDF).

[3] Zhang Y-HP*, Chun Y, Chen HG, Feng RL. 2012. Surpassing photosynthesis: high-efficiency and scalable CO2 utilization through artificial photosynthesis. ACS Symposium Series (Recent Advances in Post-Combustion CO2 Capture Chemistry), Oxford University Press, UK (accepted).

[4] Zhang Y-HP*, Ding S-Y, Mielenz JR, Cui J, Elander RT, Laser M, Himmel ME, McMillan JD, Lynd LR. 2007. Fractionating recalcitrant lignocellulose at modest reaction conditions. Biotechnology and Bioengineering 97(2): 214-223 (PDF). (Accelerated publication, #1 cited paper in 2007).