(213f) Multi-Scale Systems Modeling and Design for a Sustainable Bioeconomy

The bioeconomy aims to replace fossil fuels with biological resources for chemicals, fuels, and products. Pathways such as biochar, durable wood, bioenergy with carbon capture, and hybrid strategies present opportunities to combat climate change and address global environmental challenges. Developing a sustainable bioeconomy requires understanding the environmental, economic, and societal impacts of biomass utilization across regions and timescales. Traditional tools like life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) are limited in modeling these complex interactions.

Dr. Yao’s research group has developed multi-scale system modeling approaches to examine interactions between industrial, ecological, and economic systems. This talk will present key case studies demonstrating these methods. One case study combines pyrolysis kinetic modeling, process simulations, LCA, and machine learning to assess biochar's environmental impacts globally and support region-specific green design. Another integrates LCA, TEA, and a global ecological-economic model to understand the net carbon impacts of new engineered wood products, considering forest landscapes and products’ life cycles.

The presentation will also present the new method developed by Dr. Yao’s group for assessing the climate and ecological health impacts of emerging pollutants from biomass-based materials, including biodegradable microplastics. Additionally, it will highlight innovative model-coupling methods to inform the sustainable production and use of biomass-based fuels and materials, spanning from process level to the economy-wide scale. This talk will demonstrate how these integrated modeling frameworks advance our understanding of interconnected engineering and ecological systems for biomass utilization and how insights from these case studies can inform system-level design for a sustainable bioeconomy.