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School of Environment and Natural Resources

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FABE

Sep 23, 2014, 1:45pm - 2:45pm

 

FABE Seminar Series--Fall of 2014
“Developing a Sustainable Biomass Feedstock Supply Chain for Bio-based Industries”
 
Speaker: Ajay Shah, Ph.D.
OSU Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Room 219 of Agricultural Engineering Building (590 Woody Hayes Dr.) and on the Wooster campus in room 108 of the Old Administration Building.
 
Conventionally, corn (Zea mays) stover, the non-grain aboveground fraction of the corn plant, is collected only in limited quantities from the field, primarily to supply feed and provide bedding material for livestock. With the advent of federal policy mandating production of cellulosic biofuels for blending into the fossil transportation fuels and to alleviate greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), corn stover has been envisioned as the principal biomass feedstock for future cellulosic biorefineries to be located primarily in the Midwestern U.S. For the uninterrupted operation of these plants, a year-round supply of corn stover needs to be secured, which will require a robust, efficient, cost-effective and environmentally-balanced feedstock supply chain. This talk will provide an update on the current techno-economic and environmental status of feedstock logistics for bio-based industries and discuss possible improvement strategies.
 
In addition, Dr. Shah will also discuss some of his past, present and future research.
 
Dr. Ajay Shah is an Assistant Professor in Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (2004) from Tribhuvan University in Nepal, a master’s degree in Biological Engineering (2009) from Mississippi State University, and a doctoral degree in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (2013) from Iowa State University. Dr. Shah’s research focuses on general areas of agricultural production and bioprocess/systems engineering. His work includes feedstock production and handling for bio-based and agricultural industries, biomass conversion to value added products through thermochemical processing, and field establishment of TKS, an alternative source of natural rubber, through direct seeding.  In addition, Dr. Shah uses techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment methods to assess the economic and environmental feasibility of agricultural and bio-based systems.

Contact: Lara Jane S. Hadlocon 614-531-2669