News

The French Institute recognized Sharib Khan, a doctoral student from the Estonian University of Life Sciences, with the Nordic Award for his research on valorizing wood industry residues.

As part of his doctoral studies in bioeconomy engineering technologies, Sharib Khan is investigating how to produce lignin from the residues of the wood industry and then convert it electrochemically. In this way, waste that has been considered of little value is not simply thrown away or burned, but exciting materials and chemicals can be produced from these synthesized substances. Examples include foams, resins and composite materials used in construction, as well as filament or fiber used in 3D printing.

According to Sharib Khan's supervisor, Timo Kikas, professor of biosystems engineering at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, Khan's research topic is unique in the world. Research has indeed been conducted on the use of ionic liquids as solvents for the separation of cellulose and lignin from wood pulp, as well as the valorization of lignin into biobased chemicals. However, so far, no one has specifically focused on the use of specially designed ionic liquids for lignin separation, where valorization also takes place within the ionic liquid environment. "This approach allows for the production of biobased chemicals with a significantly reduced number of process steps, thereby saving energy and greatly simplifying the processes," explained Kikas, highlighting the distinctive feature of this approach.

Every year, the French Institute gives the Nordic Award to one young scientist from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Estonia in order to strengthen the scientific and cultural ties between the Nordic countries and France. Alongside Sharib Khani, this year's recipients of recognition from the French Institute were Jenni Kaipainen from Tampere University in Finland, Pierre Oesterle from Umeå University in Sweden, Olga Odrzygóźdź from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and Tran Hong Thang from the Technical University of Denmark. This year, it was a requirement that the research must be related to the principles of the circular economy.

The fact that his research topic is related to mitigating the impacts of climate change is also important to Sharib Khani himself. “Currently, 80% of chemicals are produced from fossil raw materials. I come from an agricultural business-oriented family, and I am well aware of the issues related to pollution and climate change. For example, astronomical amounts of waste are generated daily in the food and wood industries. It is crucial to find ways to valorize this waste by producing new materials and chemicals from it," said Khan. The next step for him is to conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis of the new products for attaining the global impact.

The award trip will take the laureates of the participating countries to establish research collaboration and visit laboratories in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which is considered one of the fastest-growing promoters of the circular economy in France.

Further information:

Sharib Khan
Doctoral student
Chair of Biosystems Engineering
Estonian University of Life Sciences
sharib.khan@emu.ee

Professor Timo Kikas
Chair of Biosystems Engineering
Estonian University of Life Sciences
5302 3636
timo.kikas@emu.ee