Shoujie (Jay) Ren 1999 Forum Drive. Apt A, Rolla, MO Phone: (865) 229-4970; E-mail: rens@mst.edu Summary Proven Research Engineer with 7 years experience in reactor and process design, chemical process development and optimization, catalyst synthesis, characterization and testing, catalyst deactivation, supercritical process. Have over 5 filed patents and invention disclosures in the area of chemical, biofuel, and product development and synthesis, and published over 18 peer-reviewed papers and books as first and second author. Strong experience in technical leading R&D project, analytical lab management, experiment and process design, and process simulation. Succeed in the development of new chemical production process, performed the techno-economic analysis, and experiences in the operation of lab and pilot scale reactors and processes. Education Ph.D. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering 2012 Washington State University, Pullman WA Experiences 12/2012 11/2016 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science, University of Tennessee Designed and built supercritical CO 2 process system for acrolein and acrylic acid production from glycerol with heterogeneous catalysts using fixed bed reactor; Significantly increased catalyst life time to over 500 hrs using designed process and catalyst; Led acrylic acid production, separation, and purification; Developed the method that recovered and purified acrylic acid to over 95% purity from aqueous solution. Developed hydrothermal process of glycerol to alkyl lactate using solid based catalysts in alcohol solvent that eliminated the gypsum production in the process. Performed fermentation of soy molassess for L-lactic acid production; developed HPLC analytical method to analyze the product. Led bio-oil production, phase separation and analytical method development for bio-oil, organic phase (pyrolytic lignin) and aqueous phase for DOE Chase (Carbon, Hydrogen, and Separation, Efficiencies) project in collaboration with ORNL and Georgia Institute of Technology; Developed method to identify and quantify the chemical groups extracted by water and organic solvents from the bio-oil. Conducted physicochemical properties and composition analysis for industrial crude glycerol and soy bean molasses and identified their potential application as precursor or additive for Polyurethane foam synthesis. 01/2010 12/2012 Doctoral Research Assistant, Center for Bioproducts and Bioenergy, Washington State University Investigated the effects of inorganic acids and metal chlorides on biomass pretreatment and demonstrated the application of metal chloride in biomass pretreatment for furfural production. Developed a novel integrated process of biomass torrefaction and pyrolysis for hydrogen-rich syngas and high quality bio-oil production and fully characterized gas and liquid products. Studied the reaction kinetics of biomass torrefaction and torrefied biomass pyrolysis by TGA.
07/2008 12/2009 Research Assistant, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, South Dakota State University Studied microwave pyrolysis of pine wood, corn stover, DDGS, switch grass, and prairie cordgrass for biofuel production. Characterized torrefied corn stover, bio-oil, syngas, and biochar. Conducted techno-economic analysis for microwave torrefaction of corn stover. Peer Reviewed Publications 1. S. Ren, X.P. Ye, and A. P. Borole. 2017. Separation of chemical groups from bio-oil extract via sequential organic solvent extraction. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis. (Published online). 2. B. Zou, S. Ren, and X.P. Ye. 2016. Glycerol Dehydration to Acrolein Catalyzed by ZSM-5 Zeolite in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Medium. ChemSusChem. 9 (23), 3370-3370. (Selected for the back cover). 3. S. Ren, X. P. Ye, A. P. Borole, P. Kim, N. Labbé. 2016. Analysis of switchgrass-derived bio-oil and associated aqueous phase generated in a pilot-scale auger pyrolyzer. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis. 119, 97-103. 4. L.K.E. Park, S. Ren, S. Yiacoumi, X.P. Ye, A.P. Borole, C. Tsouris. 2016. Separation of Switchgrass Bio-Oil by Water/Organic Solvent Addition and ph Adjustment. Energy & Fuels. 30 (3), 2164-2173. 5. S. Ren, and X.P. Ye. 2015. Catalytic conversion of glycerol Catalytic conversion of glycerol to value-added chemicals in alcohol. Fuel Processing Technology. 140, 148-155. 6. S. Ren, X.P. Ye, and P.D. Ayers. 2015. Tandem catalytic conversion of glycerol using solid catalysts followed by transesterification to produce alkyl lactate. RSC Advances. 5, 53230-53239. 7. X.P. Ye, and S. Ren. 2014. Value-added chemicals from glycerol. Book: Soy-Based Chemicals and Materials. Editor(s): Robert P. Brentin. Chapter 3, pp 43 80. ACS Symposium Series, Vol. 1178. American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2014. 8. L. Chen, S. Ren, and X.P. Ye. 2014. Glycerol conversion to lactic acid with sodium hydroxide as a homogeneous catalyst in a fed-batch reactor. Reaction Kinetics, Mechanisms and Catalysis. In press. 9. L. Chen, S. Ren, and X.P. Ye. 2014. Lactic acid production from glycerol using CaO as solid base catalyst. Fuel Processing Technology. 120, 40 47. 10. S. Ren, H. Lei, L. Wang, G. Yadavalli, Y. Liu, and J. Julson. 2014. The integrated process of microwave torrefaction and pyrolysis of corn stover for biofuel production. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis. 108, 248 253. 11. L. Wang, H. Lei, Q. Bu, S. Ren, Y. Wei, L. Zhu, X. Zhang, Y. Liu, and G. Yadavalli. 2014. Aromatic hydrocarbons production from ex situ catalysis of pyrolysis vapor over Zinc modified ZSM-5 in a packed-bed catalysis coupled with microwave pyrolysis reactor. Fuel. 129, 78 85. 12. S. Ren, H. Lei, L. Wang, Q. Bu, S. Chen, and J. Wu. 2014. Hydrocarbons and hydrogen-rich syngas production by biomass catalytic pyrolysis and bio-oil upgrading over biochar catalysts. RSC Advances. 4, 10731 10737. 13. S. Ren, H. Lei, L. Wang, Q. Bu, S. Chen, and J. Wu. 2013. Thermal behavior and kinetic study for woody biomass torrefaction and torrefied woody biomass pyrolysis by TGA. Biosystems Engineering. 116, 420 426. 14. S. Ren, H. Lei, L. Wang, Q. Bu, S. Chen, J. Wu, J. Julson, and R. Ruan. 2013. The effects of torrefaction on
compositions of bio-oil and syngas from biomass pyrolysis by microwave heating. Bioresource Technology. 135, 659 664 15. S. Ren, H. Lei, L. Wang, Q. Bu, Y. Wei, J. Liang, Y. Liu, J. Julson, S. Chen, J. Wu, and R. Ruan. 2012. Microwave torrefaction of Douglas fir pellet. Energy & Fuels. 26, 5936 5943. 16. S. Ren, H. Lei, L. Wang, Q. Bu, S. Chen, J. Wu, J. Julson, and R. Ruan. 2012. Biofuel production and kinetics analysis of microwave pyrolysis for Douglas fir sawdust pellet. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis. 94, 163 169. 17. L. Wang, H. Lei, S. Ren, Q. Bu, J. Liang, Y. Wei, Y. Liu, G. J. Lee, J. Tang, Q. Zhang, and R. Ruan. 2012. Aromatics and phenols from catalytic pyrolysis of Douglas fir pellets in microwave with ZSM-5 as a catalyst. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis. 98, 194 200. 18. Q. Bu, H. Lei, A.H. Zacher, L. Wang, S. Ren, J. Liang, Y. Wei, Y. Liu, J. Tang. 2012. A review of catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of lignin-derived phenols from biomass pyrolysis. Bioresource Technology. 124, 470 477. 19. Q. Bu, H. Lei, S. Ren, L. Wang, Q. Zhang, J. Tang, and R. Ruan. 2012. Production of bio-derived phenols and biofuels from catalytic microwave pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. Bioresource Technology. 108, 274 279. 20. H. Lei, S. Ren, L. Wang, Q. Bu, J. Julson, J. Holladay, and R. Roger. 2011. Microwave pyrolysis of distillers dried grain with solubles (DDGS) for biofuel production. Bioresource Technology. 102, 6208 6213. 21. H. Lei, S. Ren, J. Julson, L. Wang, Q. Bu, and R. Ruan. 2011. Microwave torrefaction of corn stover and tech-economic analysis. Peer-reviewed Proceedings of the ASME. 1, 685-692. 22. Q. Bu, H. Lei, S. Ren, L. Wang, J. Holladay, Q. Zhang, J. Tang, and R. Ruan. 2011. Phenol and phenolics from lignocellulosic biomass by catalytic microwave pyrolysis. Bioresource Technology. 102, 7004 7007. 23. H. Lei, S. Ren, and J. Julson. 2009. The effects of reaction temperature and time and particle size of corn stover on microwave pyrolysis. Energy and Fuels. 23, 3254 3261. Patents and Invention Disclosures 1. H. Lei, Q. Bu, S. Ren, and L. Wang. 2011. Filed patent (USPTO 61483132). Methods and synthesis of phenol and aromatic hydrocarbons from lignocellulose biomass and related biomass derived hydrocarbon biofuels. 2. H. Lei and S. Ren. 2010. Filed patent (USPTO 61404560), Method and apparatus for biomass torrefaction and pyrolysis. 3. H. Lei and S. Ren. 2009. Filed patent (USPTO 61278157), Method and apparatus for biomass torrefaction and pyrolysis for biofuels and chemicals production. 4. H. Lei, Q. Bu, S. Ren, and L. Wang. 2011. Methods and Synthesis of Phenol and Phenolics from Lignocellulose Biomass and Related Biomass Derived Phenol-formaldehyde (PF) Resin/Polyurethane (PU) Foam and Hydrocarbon Biofuels. Invention disclosure. 5. H. Lei and S. Ren. 2010. Catalytic microwave torrefaction/pyrolysis of biomass for biofuels and bioproducts. Invention disclosure. 6. H. Lei and S. Ren. 2009. Novel catalyst and catalytic microwave pyrolysis for high quality biofuels and chemicals production with zero total acid number and enhanced aromatic compounds. Invention disclosure.
Research Proposals and Grants Awarded Proposal 1. Proposal writer. Technical grade acrylic acid production via liquid-liquid extraction and azeotropic distillation of acrylic acid aqueous solution produced from glycerol. UT Research Foundation. (Awarded, $15,000, 01/2016-10/2016) Participated Research Grants 2. Renewable Hydrogen from Biomass Pyrolysis Aqueous Phase. CHASE Project. (Awarded, $2,100,000, 09/2013-09/2016, DOE) 3. Efficient production of acrylic acid from renewable crude glycerin. (Awarded, $104790, 01/2013-05/2014, United Soybean Board) 4. National Advanced Biofuels Consortium (NABC). (Awarded, $42,273,518, 08/10-08/13, DOE) 5. Torrefaction as biomass pretreatment for PNNL fluid-bed pyrolysis. (Awarded, $55,000, 10/2010-10/2012, DOE/PNNL) 6. Torrefaction as a pretreatment method to improve biofuel quality. (Awarded, $22,248, 05/2010-07/2012, WSU Office of Research) 7. Infrastructure: Create a more flexible, more reliable, and higher capacity U.S. energy infrastructure. (Awarded, $325,000, 11/2009-10/2011, DOE/PNNL) 8. Development of microwave pyrolysis of biomass and biochar utilization (Awarded, $411,825, 06/09-06/12, DOE/SunGrant) 9. Development of a novel pyrolytic process for the conversion of corn biomass to biofuels and char residue (Awarded, $66,000, 7/08-6/10, SD Corn Utilization Council) 10. Development of an interactive input/output process and cost model with consideration of impacts of the end use of the biochar on the carbon status of the fuels or products made in the thermochemical conversion process (Awarded, $60,000, 7/08-6/10, USDA/SunGrant) 11. Biomass torrefaction and catalytic pyrolysis (Awarded, $20,000, 10/2008-9/2010, SDSU Agricultural Experimental Station) 12. Interactions of biochar source/properties impacts on soil properties, c sequestration potential, and crop management (Awarded, $97,500, 8/08-7/10, DOE/SunGrant) Awards and Honors 2015 AOCS Industrial Oil Products Division Junior Researcher Travel Grant Only one selected from junior researchers at institution of higher learning or research laboratory, the grant supported the travel and registration for attending the 2015 AOCS Annual Meeting. 2012 GPSA Award One of 50 selected from hundreds of graduate students, the award supported the travel and registration for attending the 2012 AICHE conference. 2012 Third Place Award (First author) in Student Paper Competitions in Association of Oversea Chinese Agricultural, Food and Biological Engineers (AOCABFE), Dallas, Texas. 2011 National Science Foundation (NSF) Travel Award To attend the ASME 2011 International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference (MSEC) and
made an oral presentation titled Microwave torrefaction of corn stover and tech-economic analysis at the conference. Professional Activities American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS, 2015 present) Session chair of Oleochemicals and Biorefinery for the 106th American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS) Annual Meeting & Expo to be held at Orlando, Florida, May 3-6, 2015 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE, 2010 present) Peer reviewer of journals: (1) Chemical Reviews, (2) Bioresource Technology, (3) Energy & Fuels, (4) Journal of Fuel, (5) Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, (6) Separation and Purification Technology, (7) Bioenergy Research, (8) Energy Conversion and Management, (9) Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, (10) Bioresources, (11) Biomass and Bioenergy, (12) Energies, (13) Energy Efficiency