Go Live: Webinar Opportunities and challenges in valorizing cellulose

Cellulose is a remarkable natural resource because of its vast abundance, its potential as a source of renewable glucose and its superior mechanical properties. A global pursuit of ‘advanced biofuels’, envisioning the conversion of cellulose in agricultural plant residues (lignocellulosic biomass) to renewable fuels, has been on-going for nearly sixty years but has faced significant technoeconomic barriers. Interest in nanocellulose for renewable biomaterials in consumer products is high, but here too, technical challenges have yet to be fully overcome. Cellulose, a homopolymer of glucose subunits, is compositionally simple but structurally complex due to its organization into highly organized, crystalline fibrils. Chemical and biochemical reactions with cellulose is limited to interfacial interactions. Our work at UC Davis pursues the understanding of lignocellulosic biomass properties and cellulose surface properties limiting enzymatic interactions with cellulose. Cellulase enzymes targeting the glycosidic bonds of cellulose are limited by the availability and accessibility to ‘productive binding sites’ where enzymes can form active complexes. Enzymatic and chemical hydrolysis of cellulose depletes productive binding sites on the surface of cellulose. This talk will highlight research at UC Davis to facilitate valorizing cellulose from agricultural residues for biofuels, biochemicals and biomaterials.     Date: July 16th, 3:00 pm (GMT-5)