The Center for Renewable Carbon (CRC) has unique resources specifically related to biofuels, biochemicals and bioproducts production and characterization.
The Biomass Chemistry Laboratory (2,500 ft2) of the Center for Renewable Carbon is housed in the Plant Biotechnology Building and in the Center for Renewable Carbon (10,000 ft2). In addition, the BioEnergy Science and Technology Labs (8,100 ft2) were renovated in 2010. A wide range of equipment to support biomass preprocessing, grinding, chopping, pretreatment, fractionation, isolation, conversion, characterization, and chemical analysis are available.
The Bioenergy Science & Technology (BeST) Laboratory offers a state of the art laboratory environment for bioenergy and bioproducts research and development. The laboratory includes new capabilities for biomass preprocessing, pretreatment research, thermochemical and biochemical conversion, and product analysis. Also, unique analytical capabilities for biomass characterization are available through an established partnership with Perkin-Elmer Life Sciences.
- Biomass fractionation & conversion
- Organosolv process
- Pyrolysis unit
- Biomass and products characterization
- 400 MHz Varian liquid state NMR spectrometer
- Chromatography
- Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
- Inverse Gas Chromatography-Surface Energy Analyzer equipped with humidity controller and monolithic sample film cell (Surface Measurement Systems Inc.)
- Advanced Materials Research
- HAAKE Minilab
- Hisitron Triboindenter
- PSIA XE 100 AFM/SThM
- Steam injection press with Pressman control system and dielectric sensors
- 500 bd. ft. steam-heated lumber dry kiln with conventional control
- 750 bd. ft. steam-heated lumber dry kiln with weight-based control system, DC drive reversing fan control, WonderWare© software control system
- 60,000 lb. 4-screw, universal test machine with digital load/deflection acquisition software and test jigs/fixtures for all standard ASTM wood tests
- Instron 30kN Universal testing machine
- 2′ x 2′ hydraulic hot-press with single up-acting electric heated platens, computer controlled position software, and vent hood. Press has custom in-situ radiation measuring system for mat density determination during pressing
- Full woodworking shop (table saw, planers, jointer, drill press, bandsaws, arc-TIG welding equipment, all hand tools)
- 100 cu. ft. conditioning chamber with temperature/relative humidity control
- Drying ovens (convection, muffle, vacuum)
- Two NIR spectrometers
- X-ray density profile machine
- Thermo gravimetric analyzer
- Dynamic mechanical analyzer
- Perkin Elmer Diamond differential scanning calorimeter
- Fourier transform infrared spectrometer with Diamond ATR and Perkin Elmer Spotlight microscope
- Eumetrics System III dielectric spectrometer with programmable oven
- Zeiss universal microscope
- Olympus BX51 TRFM with heating/cooling stage
- Cahn dynamic contact angle analyzer
- Other equipment includes pH meters, viscometer, balances, digital calipers, Olympus stereoscope, digital photography, Speed Mixer 150 FVZ,and assorted other laboratory supplies
- Process Control & Modeling
