EAGER: Biomass Utilization with Supercritical CO2 for Value-added Materials

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This project is aimed at environmentally benign conversion of biomass to high value products. The significance of this project lies in converting biomass to activated carbon that offers significant increase in value for a wide range of applications, including water purification, air pollution control and energy storage. Currently the activated carbon is produced from fossil resources that are not only limited but they also produce harmful pollutants. Fundamental issues to be addressed include basic reaction mechanisms in producing activated carbon using supercritical CO2 (called sCO2). The project will provide a broader impact in the field to produce high value activated carbon, as well as support STEM education and diversity to benefit society with the availability of high value activated carbon using biomass and sCO2. The University of Maryland team will develop an advanced and environmentally responsible biomass-utilization technology using supercritical CO2 (called sCO2) to produce sustainable solid materials of enhanced value and application without any economic and environmental impediments. The sCO2 treatment process will be explored to increase the value of char produced with targeted applications including energy storage materials, high-porosity sorbents as activated carbon for water purification and air pollution control, carbon catalysts and high-quality solid fuels. Fundamental investigations on reaction mechanism and kinetics of high-pressure biomass conversion in sCO2 will be carried out to understand solubility and thermodynamic properties of supercritical CO2 systems for seeking versatility and control of product characteristics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.