Gregg Beckham

Biological nanoparticles include lipoproteins, protein aggregates, viruses, extracellular vesicles, and liposomes. Ranging in size from 1-1000 nm, these particles have important roles in diverse fields like health and sustainability…

Lignin, is predominant source for renewable aromatics in the biosphere, and has therefore attracted interest as a feedstock for potential industrial use. However, native lignin interacts with other biomass components within a larger network of interactions that has limited its application…

Lignin is an aromatic heteropolymer found abundantly in secondary plant cell walls, and is the single largest source of renewable aromatics in the biosphere…

The accumulation of waste plastics in the natural environment and in landfills is now recognized to be a global pollution crisis…

The accumulation of plastics waste in landfills and the natural environment is a global pollution crisis that will require new technological solutions to ameliorate…

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanometer sized lipid particles (25-500 nm) that are produced from various types of cells, including from the outer membrane of bacteria (termed outer membrane vesicles or OMVs)…

Reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) is a promising biorefinery strategy to effectively extract and valorize lignin from lignocellulosic biomass…

The current global consumption of jet fuel of ~106 billion gallons per year is projected to increase by more than 100% by 2050. This trend stands in stark contrast with our need to curb greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming…

Post-consumer recycled polyethylene terephthalate (RPET) flakes were extruded into strands (ex-RPET) then enzymatically degraded using an unpurified _Leaf Compost Cutinase_ (_LCC_) enzyme cocktail to better understand the effect of material properties on the degradation behavior of PET…

Lignin solvolysis from the plant cell wall is the critical first step in lignin depolymerization processes involving whole biomass feedstocks. However, little is known about the coupled reaction kinetics and transport phenomena that govern effective rates of lignin extraction…

The US Department of Energy-funded BOTTLE Consortium (Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment) aims to deliver selective and scalable technologies that enable cost-effective recycling, upcycling, and increased energy efficiency for plastics…

Biomass derived monomers can offer unique functionality, often in the forms of heteroatoms, that is not easily accesible by routine petrochemical routes…

Chemical recycling and upcycling of plastics will be critical technologies to address the plastic pollution challenge…

This talk will cover our recent efforts in the development of bio-based building blocks to be used in recyclable-by-design polymers…

Thermoset materials, such as fiber reinforced plastics and elastomers, have enabled multiple applications from wind turbines to car tires. Despite all the benefits, of these materials (e.g. long material lives, robust material performance, etc…

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of today’s most ubiquitous plastics finding predominant uses in textiles and food applications…

Thermoset materials, such as fiber reinforced plastics and elastomers, have enabled multiple applications from wind turbines to car tires. Despite all the benefits, of these materials (e.g. long material lives, robust material performance, etc…

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of today’s most ubiquitous plastics finding predominant uses in textiles and food applications…

The conversion of lignin, the heterogeneous aromatic polymer found in terrestrial plant cell walls, into renewable bio-derived chemicals is critical to enable a viable lignocellulose-based bioeconomy…

Reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) is a promising lignin-first biorefinery strategy that selectively extracts and depolymerizes lignin from intact lignocellulosic biomass, while maintaining carbohydrate integrity in a cellulose-rich pulp…

Plastics are staples of modern life, seemingly present in all sectors of society and industry. However, pollution of this manmade plastic has become a global crisis…

Autoxidation chemistry catalyzed by cobalt(II) acetate is an industrial pathway for converting hydrocarbons into oxygenated compounds and has promising potential in plastic waste deconstruction…

Recycling will play a crucial role in mitigating plastic pollution and promoting a circular economy for polymers…

A necessary transformation for a sustainable economy is the transition from fossil-derived plastics to polymers derived from biomass or waste resources…

The development of new sustainable polyesters is highly desirable, as the ester bond can be leveraged for chemical recycling, an important strategy for achieving a closed-loop plastic lifecycle…

Reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) of biomass is a promising method to fractionate lignin and polysaccharides…

Lignin depolymerization via hydrogenolysis is a promising pathway to produce renewable phenolic monomers…

Performance advantaged bio-products (PABP) seeks to harness the inherent properties of bio-derived precursors to produce products, such as polymers, with superior properties in manufacturing, performance, or end of life…

In recent years there has been increasing commercial interest in replacing fossil-derived, non-recyclable polyolefin packaging materials with polyesters that can be sourced from biomass and chemically recycled or composted…

Reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) is an effective method to fractionate lignocellulosic biomass, yielding stable lignin-derived products and usable carbohydrates…

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a mass produced plastic widely used in the production of disposable bottles and polyester clothing. Current recycling methods often involve thermomechanical processes which degrade the polymer and limit its reuse to lower-quality items…

The soil bacterium _Cupriavidus necator_ is a facultative chemolithoautotroph that can naturally consume organic carbon or carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce biomass. Through metabolic engineering approaches, carbon flux can be directed toward the synthesis of value-added bioproducts…

Enzymes with the capacity to degrade polytethylene terephthalate, a commodity polymer used predominantly in textiles and packaging at rate of 30 MMT/year, have received significant attention as the demand for plastics recycling continues to grow…

Lignin is the second most abundant terrestrial polymer and valorization is crucial to enabling the economic success of advanced lignocellulosic biorefineries.1 Lignin poses unique challenges and opportunities based on its heterogeneity, recalcitrance, and reactivity…

The conversion of lignin into biochemicals through the lignin-first biorefining approach has been widely studied…

Autoxidation catalysis followed by bioconversion is an effective method for the conversion of mixed plastics waste to single products…

Amine-cured epoxy resins are remarkably recalcitrant, high-volume polymers widely used across the aerospace, wind energy, sporting goods, automotive, and other industries…

Plastics are a worldwide pollution problem. Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the five most widely produced and used polymers today. Different chemical and biological deconstruction pathways for PET exist. One promising route to deconstructing PET is using PET hydrolases…

Lignin is an abundant natural resource rich in aromatic subunits…

Polyurethanes (PUs) are ubiquitous in modern society, with applications spanning textiles, medical devices, coatings, automotive parts, and thermal insulation…

Plastics are highly versatile. However, because they do not readily degrade, they pose a worldwide pollution problem. Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the five most widely produced and used polymers today. Different chemical and biological deconstruction pathways for PET exist…

Plastic substrates will have substantially different behavior than the gas or liquid phase substrates on which the petrochemical industry is built…

Furan-based polyesters are promising renewably-sourced replacements for petroleum-derived polyesters, yet few reports highlight the properties of polyesters derived from asymmetric furan-based monomers…

Plastic waste is a significant environmental challenge due to its rapidly increasing production and resistance to natural degradation…

This work presents a machine learning-driven approach to discovering polyurethane hydrolases, addressing the environmental challenge of persistent polyurethane waste…