{"567631":{"#nid":"567631","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Lignin Group Forms, Launches Website","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearch groups from three Georgia Tech Schools have teamed up with the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/rbi.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ERenewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI)\u003C\/a\u003E to form the Lignin Group.Through this research collaboration, experts from the Schools of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE), Chemistry \u0026amp; Biochemistry, and Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering are seeking to develop cost-efficient, ecologically sustainable processes from lignin to defined chemical compounds.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn order to increase outreach, as well as share research projects and publications, the group recently launched its own \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/lignin.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ewebsite.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe felt it was very important to have a presence on Georgia Tech\u2019s web platform,\u201d said Thomas Kwok, a ChBE PhD candidate and one of the website\u2019s developers. \u201cWe hope our research will both inform and inspire the community to see lignin\u2019s great potential.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELignin is a major component of all plants, and it is the second most abundant resource of renewable organic material. Lignin is typically seen as a waste product to be burned as a low value fuel for cellulosic processes. However, the Lignin Group sees the complex aromatic structure as a precursor for fine chemicals and fuels.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUtilization of lignin for renewable chemicals and fuels will revolutionize both the chemical industry as well as the production of fuels,\u201d said Professor Andreas S. Bommarius, ChBE.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn order for this transformation to take place, the Lignin Group is emphasizing collaboration in both current and future research. This approach has ignited tremendous excitement in graduate students such as Alex Brittain (ChBE).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to learning about other lignin research at Tech, as well as in the lignin community as a whole, outside of Tech,\u201d Brittain said. \u201cI know this group is going to give me new connections and insights for my own research on mechanocatalytic depolymerization of lignin.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis academic year, four new projects for incoming graduate students will be funded through RBI\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/rbi.gatech.edu\/paper-science-engineering-program\u0022\u003EPaper Science and Engineering (PSE) Fellowship program\u003C\/a\u003E, and a research collaboration has been opened with \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.americanprocess.com\/\u0022\u003EAmerican Process Inc\u003C\/a\u003E. With individual funding successes, many faculty members said the Lignin Group will provide them with even more opportunities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMany government initiatives call for integrated, multidisciplinary concepts,\u201d said Professor Carsten Sievers.\u201cThe Lignin Group will position Georgia Tech to successfully compete for such projects.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The Lignin Group Forms, Launches Website"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearch groups from three Georgia Tech Schools have teamed up with the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/rbi.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ERenewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI)\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to form the Lignin Group. Through this research collaboration, experts from the Schools of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE), Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Industrial and Systems Engineering are seeking to develop cost-efficient, ecologically sustainable processes from lignin to defined chemical compounds.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Lignin Group Forms, Launches Website"}],"uid":"27271","created_gmt":"2016-08-24 15:04:59","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:22:19","author":"Brad Dixon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-08-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-08-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"567651":{"id":"567651","type":"image","title":"Lignin Group","body":null,"created":"1472072264","gmt_created":"2016-08-24 20:57:44","changed":"1475895364","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:56:04","alt":"Lignin Group","file":{"fid":"206974","name":"ligningroup.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ligningroup.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ligningroup.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":468086,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ligningroup.jpg?itok=UJJ_Lbl8"}}},"media_ids":["567651"],"groups":[{"id":"1240","name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"172263","name":"Georgia Tech School of Chemical \u0026 Biomolecular Engineering"},{"id":"170578","name":"Lignin group"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrad Dixon (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:braddixon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebraddixon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E), 404-385-2299\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["braddixon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}