The Biofuels and Bioproducts Laboratory has access to excellent facilities. These include individual faculty laboratories, and a newly renovated 1,600 sq. ft. bioresource laboratory which includes a wide array of analytical equipment, such as HPLCs, and processing equipment such as fermenters and separation apparatuses. In addition, we have a 3,600 sq. ft. pilot facility with many unit operations for converting biomass into fuels, chemical, and products. These facilities provide the capability to carry out fundamental research as well as commercialize new bioprocessing technologies.
A 2.7 liter custom-built steam gun was recently installed in the pilot facility capable of pretreating 0.5 kg batches of biomass at temperatures up to 250°C and 550 psig pressure.
As a part of the fermentation and enzymology research, we have sterile capabilities and equipment for aseptically growing microbial cells for fermentation as well as culturing novel organisms.
Analytical equipment
 |
Dionex ICS-3000 LC |
 |
Shimadzu Prominence LC |
 |
Fiber quality analyzer (FKA) |
 |
New Brunswick Scientific BioFlo/Celligen 115 1.3 liter bioreactor |
 |
Membralox filtration system |
 |
VSEP Series P-50 filtration system |
| Oxygen reactor | |
| Pulping digestors | |
 |
Hydropulping reactor |
 |
Catalytic hydrogenation reactor
|
 |
2.7 L steam pretreatment reactor
|