Organic Chemistry
Dr. Cheng Zhang - associate professor
Education
Ph. D. organic/polymer/materials chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California. 1999. Adviser: Larry R. Dalton.
Ph. D. candidate, laser spectroscopy and molecular reaction dynamics, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1991-1993. Among 4 out of 30 graduate students selected for direct enrollment in the Ph.D. program. Adviser: Guohe Sha.
B. S. (with honors), physical chemistry, Wu Han University, China. 1987.
Research Interests:
My group is taking an integrated approach to biomass valorization. The goal is to develop enabling technologies for establishing circular economy based on biomass of various sources including agricultural residues, forest residues, municipal solid wastes and livestock manure digester solid waste.
Our research projects include
- Developing low-cost hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) processes to convert biomass into biocrude.
- Developing cost-effective methods for deoxygenation of biocrude.
- Producing gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from deoxygenated biocrude.
- Developing asphalt binder from biocrude.
- Developing various coating applications for biocrude including slow-release fertilizers, water-proof sealants, etc.
- Developing biodegradable and environment-friendly water-proof packaging materials.