Date & Time: 
Wed, 09/04/2019 - 1:00pm
Speaker: 
Changlei Xia
Affiliation: 
Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, UNT
Location: 

Discovery Park K120

Abstract: 

Sustainable bioproducts have been attracting more and more attention from both researchers and industry. Lignocellulose, as the most abundant natural polymer, is definitely an ideal candidate for the world's sustainable development. Nanocellulose is one group of cellulose owning unique properties because of their nano-scaled size, high specific surface area, high surface free energy, etc. Currently, the fabrication of nanocellulose is performed in the harsh condition, e.g. 70% sulfuric acid aqueous solution. The development of mild and sustainable manufacturing conditions for nanocellulose fabrication is desired. As a relatively new material which was firstly reported at early 21st century, the applications of nanocellulose are going to be discovered and developed. A brief overview of nanocellulose fabrication, modification, characterization and application will be presented. The research about nanocellulose proceed in our lab will be briefly introduced.

Biography: 

Dr. Changlei Xia received his PhD degree in Mechanical and Energy Engineering at the University of North Texas (UNT) in 2016. He was the first doctoral graduate in the department and honored as Outstanding Doctoral Student by the university. He was working as Post-doctoral Fellow in Chemical and Environmental Engineering at University of Cincinnati from 2016 to 2018. Earlier, he obtained BS and MS degrees both in Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). Dr. Xia plans to start a new career from September 2019 as a professor at Nanjing Forestry University in China. He has been experienced in the manufacture processes of bio-based materials using lignocellulosic biomass as feedstocks, such as wood, plant fibers, soybean, etc. His research has been widely recognized by his colleagues. He received the 1st Place Wood Award from Forest Products Society (FPS) in 2016, which honors the most outstanding research in the field of wood and wood products. He has published around 40 peer-reviewed publications so far.

Department:

Mechanical Engineering