Research Team for Lignocellulosic Biomass Processing
The Research Team for Lignocellulosic Biomass Processing is a group of scientists from the Department of Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering and the Department of Engineering and Dynamics of Chemical Reactors of the Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering of the Warsaw University of Technology. The team actively cooperates with research groups from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and other research teams operating within the Faculty and Warsaw University of Technology structures. The team's research topics concern the search for the most favorable conditions for carrying out the main stages of lignocellulosic biomass processing into valuable products, including biofuels. They align with the sustainable development strategy currently being implemented worldwide.
The team has experience in investigating chemical pretreatment of biomass of various origins. In addition, the team's research concerns optimization of enzymatic saccharification of cellulose and hemicelluloses conditions, including selection of the type and dosage of enzymes, temperature and pH of the process environment, and study of the kinetics of the hydrolysis reaction. The most favorable conditions for fermentation of the obtained hydrolysates using different strains of microorganisms are also being sought. In cooperation with other teams, research is also being carried out to find new applications for hydrolysates obtained from lignocellulosic raw materials. The team's research also concerns using membrane separation in enzymatic hydrolysis and modeling the influence of membrane bioreactor operating parameters on the results obtained.
Team members
dr inż. Katarzyna Dąbkowska-Susfał – Team's Head
mgr inż. Grzegorz Karpiński
mgr inż. Jakub Januszewski
Research infrastructure:
Varian 625 CL System HPLC liquid chromatograph with Prostar 410 autosampler (Varian) and two detectors: UV-Vis detector (Varian) and Smartline 2300 refractometer detector (Knauer).
Unidrive 1050W 4000-33000 rpm rotor homogenizer with T-10 type N homogenization knife.
IST-4075R incubation shaker (Lab Companion).
Amicon Stirred Cell 200 mL membrane reactors (EMD Millipore) with flat membranes and Amicon Stirred Cell Reservoir 800 mL feed tank.
Amicon Continuous Membrane Diafiltration System (EMD Millipore).
30L membrane reactor with ceramic tubular microfiltration membranes and feed tank.
RV 05 BASIC rotary vacuum evaporator (IKA).
Tank bioreactors (Sartorius, Eppendorf).
R&D offer:
Selection of optimal conditions for chemical pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass using statistical analysis.
Determination of enzyme activity.
Studying the kinetics of enzymatic reactions.
Determination of monosaccharides, organic acids and alcohols by HPLC.
Determination of the percentage composition of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignins in plant biomass.
Selection of membranes for enzymatic hydrolysis in a continuous process.
Selection of fermentation conditions for lignocellulosic hydrolysates microbial utilization.
Participation in research projects:
HERB biorefinery for processing hemp (NCBiR Leader, 2024-2026), project leader: Jan Krzysztoforski, PhD.
Integrated biotechnological production of bioethanol and xylitol from agricultural lignocellulosic waste after alkaline pretreatment (IDUB PW, 2022-2024)
Use of membrane separation in enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic waste carried out in the presence of surfactants (IChem-2, 2021-2022)
Intelligent systems of breeding and cultivation, wheat, corn and poplar for optimized production, biomass, biofuels and modified wood' in collaboration with CROPTECH Science Consortium (BIOSTRATEG 2, NCBiR, 2016-2019)
Development of integrated technologies for fuel and energy production from biomass, agricultural and other wastes (Strategic Project, NCBiR, 2010-2013)