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Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis

Staff

  • Mark Crocker
    Associate Director - Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis
    Scientist III
    Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
    Application of catalysis to biomass upgrading and biodiesel synthesis. Environmental applications of catalysis, focusing on the design of new catalysts and processes for the abatement of gaseous pollutants (e.g., NOx, N2O, NH3); selective oxidation of hydrocarbons, focusing on the design and application of improved catalysts; mechanistic studies in catalysis, employing soluble coordination complexes to model the active site in heterogeneous catalysts; applications of novel materials in catalysis.
  • Yaying Ji
    Scientist II - Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis
    Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
    Research areas include selective oxidation of lower hydrocarbons; hydrodesulfurization; EXAFS studies; Heck and environmental catalysis studies.
  • Dae Jung Kim
    Engineer Associate III - Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis
    Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
  • Tonya Morgan
    Scientist I - Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis
    Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
    Primary research focus relates to operations of UK Renewable Fuels Laboratory. Experience includes design and operation of catalyst screening reactors for bio-oil upgrading; Catalyst Preparation Methods (PVI, EWI, HDP, LDH, Acid Activation of Carbon Nanotubes); Sample handling and preparation protocols; Operation of various Gas Chromatographs [GC, GC/MS, Simulated Distillation, Refinery Gas Analyzers (Micro-GC)]; Other analytical devices (Potentiometric Titrators, Digital Density Meters, etc).
  • Robby Pace
    Technician - Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis
    Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
    Expertise in chemical analysis; current research includes the in depth analysis of lignin composition and evaluation of green strategies for the depolymerization of lignin.
  • Andy Placido
    Engineer Associate II - Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis
    Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
    Research interests focus on the delignification of biomass for the production of biofuels and the development of an algae based CO2 mitigation system for coal fired power plants with an emphasis on bio-reactor design , as well as the controls and analytics of large scale algae culturing systems. Expertise includes polymer synthesis, production and characterization.
  • Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez
    Scientist II - Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis
    Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
    Research interests focus on the application of catalysis to the production of renewable fuels and chemicals, with emphasis on the upgrading of algae and vegetable oils to drop-in hydrocarbon fuels via decarboxylation and hydrotreating. Expertise includes catalyst preparation, characterization and testing, as well as the elucidation of structure-activity relationships and reaction mechanisms in heterogeneous catalysis.
  • Jin Wang
    Scientist II - Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis
    Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
    He is an Environmental Science Visiting Scientist and earned his Ph.D at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
  • Michael Wilson
    Engineer Associate II - Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis
    Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
    Researching photo bio-reactor design and optimization of large scale algae culturing systems. Experience in systems integration, measurement, and control.
  • Chunhua Wu
    Visiting Scientist - Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis
    Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
    She earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from the Nanjing Forestry University of China. She is currently a materials engineering faculty member at the Southwest Forestry, University of China. She will be a visiting scientist in the Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis Group for one year.