ORNL researchers make progress on breaking down biomass using supercomputers

December 26, 2018 |

In Tennessee, a team from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has made several fundamental discoveries related to the challenges associated with breaking down biomass using supercomputers. In a recent paper published in Nature Reviews Chemistry, ORNL researchers summarize key concepts derived from a decade of molecular-level simulations of biomass systems consisting of thousands to millions of atoms. In addition to determining the molecular structure and characteristics of biomass, the team also uncovered critical forces at work during biomass pretreatment, where heat, water, and solvents are applied in advance of enzymatic deconstruction.

Category: Research

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