David R. Shonnard

Contact

drshonna@mtu.edu
906-487-3468
Dow 840A

Research Professor, Chemical Engineering
Robbins Chair in Sustainable Use of Materials

PhD in Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis (1991)
MS in Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis (1985)
BS in Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno (1983)

Biography

My teaching interests are in sustainable engineering, environmentally-conscious design, life cycle assessments, and chemical reaction engineering.

Research interests are in systems analysis for sustainability, environmental life cycle assessments of renewable energy technologies, and chemical recycling of waste plastics for a circular economy.

Bioprocess Engineering / Renewable Bio-Based Fuels
Research in these areas employ a range of conversion approaches, including molecular biology techniques for enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass and acid catalyzed hydrolysis of woody biomass. Thermochemical process engineering includes micro pyrolysis and pilot-scale fast pyrolysis. Biomass feedstocks include forest biomass, forest residuals, municipal solid waste, forest products wastewater streams, energy crops (hybrid poplar, switchgrass, willow), and residuals from the agricultural sector (corn stover, cane bagasse, rice straw).

Research Interests

Bioprocess engineering
Alternative energy/Biofuels
Sustainability

Publications

Textbooks

Allen, D.T. and Shonnard, D.R. (and other contributors), “Green Engineering: Environmentally Conscious Design of Chemical Processes, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2002, pp. 552, ISBN 0-13-061908-6.
Allen, D.T., and Shonnard, D.R., “Sustainable Engineering: Concepts, Design, and Case Studies”, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2012, pp 223.

Education Articles

Allen, D.T., Shonnard, D.R., Huang, Y., Schuster, D. 2016, Green Engineering Education in Chemical Engineering Curricula: A Quarter Century of Progress and Prospects for Future Transformations, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 4 (11), pp 5850–585410.1021/acssuschemeng.6b01443.
Allen, D.T., Shonnard, D.R., (2012), Sustainability in chemical engineering education: Identifying a core body of knowledge, AIChE Journal, 58(8), 2296-2302, August 2012.
Shonnard, D.R., Allen, D.T., Nguyen, N., and Austin, S., 2003, Green Engineering Education Through a US EPA/Academia Collaboration,Environmental Science and Technology, 37(23), 5253-5462.
Shonnard, D.R., Fisher, E.R., and Caspary, D., 2003, Integrated Bioprocess Experiments for the Senior Laboratory: Fermentation for L-Lysine Production, Chemical Engineering Education, 37(4),262-267.
Shonnard, D.R., Allen, D.T., Weil-Austin. S.A., Nguyen, N., 2003, US EPA/academia collaboration for a Green Engineering textbook for Chemical Engineering, Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 5(4-3), 226-231.
Allen, D.T. and Shonnard, D.R., 2001, Green engineering: Environmentally conscious design of chemical processes and products, AIChE Journal,47(9), 1906-1910.
Shonnard, D.R. and Deshpande, P.A., 2001, Column transport experiments for dissolved pollutants and colloids, Chemical Engineering Education,35(3), 222-228.

Research Articles

Chaudhari, U., Johnson, A., Reck, B., Handler, R., Thompson, V., Hartley, D., Young, W., Peralta, A., Watkins, D. Shonnard, D.R., Material Flow Analysis and LCA of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains in the United States, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, published, September 22, 2022.
Shonnard, D.R., Bakshi, B., 2022, Virtual special issue on the circular economy of plastics, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 10, 12475-12476 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c05118
Schaerer, L.G., Wu, R., Putman, L.I., Pearce, J.M., Lu, T., Shonnard, D.R., Ong, R.G., Techtmann, S.M., Killing Two Birds with One Stone: Biochemical Upcycling of Plastics into Food, Trends in Biotechnology, published Sept. 1, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.06.012
Zolghadr, Ali, Kulas, Daniel, Shonnard, D.R., Evaluation of pyrolysis wax as a solvent in polyolefin pyrolysis processing, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, published online, July 20, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.2c01493.
Kulas, Daniel, Zolghadr, Ali, Shonnard, D.R., Liquid-Fed Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Pilot Plant: Effect of Reactor Volume on Product Yields, Journal of Applied and Analytical Pyrolysis, published online, June 27, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2022.105601 .
Byrne, E.R., Schaerer, L.G., Kulas, D.G., Ankathi, S.K., Putman, L.I., Codere, K.R., Schum, S.K., Shonnard, D.R., Techtmann, S.M., Pyrolysis-Aided Microbial Biodegradation of High-Density Polyethylene Plastic in Environmental Inocula Enrichment Cultures, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2022, 10, 6, 2022-2033, Jan. 31, 2022.
Zolghadr, A., Foroozandehfar, A., Kulas, D.G., Shonnard, D.R. (2021) Study of the Viscosity and Thermal Characteristics of Polyolefins/Solvent Mixtures: Applications for Plastic Pyrolysis, ACS Omega, 6 (48), 32832–32840, Nov. 19, 2021.
Kulas, D.G., Zolghadr, A., Shonnard, D.R., (2021) Micropyrolysis of Polyethylene and Polypropylene Prior to Bioconversion: The Effect of Reactor Temperature and Vapor Residence Time on Product Distribution, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 9 (43), 14443–14450, Oct. 22, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c04705
Ankathi, S.K., Watkins, D., Sreedhara, P., Zuhlke, J., Shonnard, D.R., GIS-integrated optimization for locating food waste and manure anaerobic co-digestion facilities, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 9, 4024-4032.
Chaudhari, U., Lin, Y., Thompson, V., Handler, R, Pearce, J., Caneba, G., Muhuri, P., Watkins, D., Shonnard, D., 2021, Systems Analysis Approach to PET and Olefin Plastics Supply Chains in the Circular Economy: A Review of Datasets and Models, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 9, 22, 7403–7421, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c08622.
Kulas, D., Thies, M., Shonnard, D., Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Waste Lignin Fractionation and Valorization using the ALPHA Process, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2021 9 (15), 5388-5395, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c00267.
Bhavik R. Bakshi, David Shonnard, and David T. Allen, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Invites Contributions to a Virtual Special Issue on The Circular Economy of Plastics, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 2021 9 (4), 1425-1426, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c00209
U. Diwekar, A. Amekudzi-Kennedy, B. Bakshi, R. Baumgartner, R. Boumans, P. Burger, H. Cabezas, M. Egler, J. Farley, B. Fath, T. Gleason, Y. Huang, A. Karunanithi, V. Khanna, A. Mangan, A. L. Mayer, R. Mukherjee, G. Mullally, V. Rico-Ramirez, D. Shonnard, M. Svanström, and T. Theis, 2020, A Perspective on the Role of Uncertainty in Sustainability Science and Engineering, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 164, 105140.
Shonnard, D.R., Winjobi, O., Kulas, D., Chapter 2. Fast Pyrolysis for Biofuel Production, Saffron, C. (ed.), Achieving carbon-negative bioenergy systems from plant materials, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2020, p.43-p.70, ISBN: 978 1 78676 252 8
Russell, J.M.; Gracida-Alvarez, U. R.; Winjobi, O.; Shonnard, D. (2020) Update to “Effect of Temperature and Vapor Residence Time on the Micropyrolysis Products of Waste High Density Polyethylene”. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 59, 10716-10719.
Gracida-Alvarez, U. R.; Winjobi, O.; Sacramento-Rivero, J.; Shonnard, D. (2019) Systems Analyses of High-Value Chemicals and Fuels from a Waste High-Density Polyethylene Refinery. Part 1: Conceptual Design and Techno-Economic Assessment. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 7 (22), 18254-18266, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b04763.
Gracida-Alvarez, U. R.; Winjobi, O.; Sacramento-Rivero, J. C.; Shonnard, D. R. (2019) Systems Analysis of High-Value Chemicals and Fuels from a Waste High-Density Polyethylene Refinery. Part 2: Carbon Footprint Analysis and Regional Electricity Effects. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 7 (22), 18267-18278, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b04764.
Ankathi, S.K., Zhou, W., Webber, J.B.W., Patil, R., Chaudhari, U., Shonnard, D.R. (2019) Synergistic effects between hydrolysis time and microporous structure in poplar, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 7, 12920-12929.
Shonnard, D.R., Tipaldo, E., Thompson, V., Pearce, J., Caneba, G., Handler, R.M., 2019, Systems analysis for PET and olefin polymers in a circular economy, Procedia CIRP, 80, 602-606, 26th CIRP Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) Conference.
Rui Shi, David W. Archer, Krishna Pokharel, Matthew Pearlson, Kristin C. Lewis, Suchada Ukaew, and David R. Shonnard (2019) A Life Cycle Analysis of Hydrotreated Renewable Jet Fuel (HRJ) from Oilseed Feedstocks Replacing Fallow in the U.S Northern Great Plains, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 7 (23), 18753-18764, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b02150.
Ko, S., Lautala, P., Fan, J., Shonnard, D.R., (2019), Economic, Social and Environmental Cost Optimization of Biomass Transportation: A Regional Model for Transportation Analysis in Plant Location Process, BioFPR, 13:582-598, DOI: 10.1002/bbb.1967.
Shi, R., Shonnard, D.R., Handler, R.M., (2019), Life cycle assessment of novel technologies for algae harvesting and oil extraction in the renewable diesel pathway, Algal Research, 37, 248-259.
Handler, R.M., Shonnard, D.R., (2018) Environmental life cycle assessment of methane biocatalysis: Key considerations and potential impacts, chapter in Methane Biocatalysis: Paving the Way to Sustainability, Ed. Marina Kalyuzhnaya and Xin-Hui Xing, Springer Nature, June, 2018, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-74866-5_16.
Funkenbusch, L., Mullins, M.E., Vamling, L., Belkhieri, T., Srettiwat, N., Winjobi, O., Shonnard, D.R., and Rogers, T. (2019), "Technoeconomic Assessment of Hydrothermal Liquefaction Oil from Lignin with Catalytic Upgrading for Renewable Fuel and Chemical Production." Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment: (Published Online, July 2018) DOI: 10.1002/wene.319.
Winjobi, O., Tavakoli, H., Klemetsrud, B., Handler, R.M., Marker, T., Roberts, M., Shonnard, D.R., (2018), Carbon Footprint Analysis of Gasoline and Diesel from Forest Residues and Algae using Integrated Hydroyrolysis and Hydroconversion Plus Fisher Tropsch (IH2® Plus Cool GTL™), ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 6(8), 10766-10777, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02091.
Ankathi, S.K., Long, D.S., Gollany, H.T., Das, P., Shonnard, D.R., (2019) Life cycle assessment of oilseed crops produced in rotation with dryland cereals in the inland Pacific Northwest, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 24, 627-641, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-018-1488-y .
Hungwe, Kedmon N., and David Shonnard. 2018. "Supporting Curriculum Reform in Science Education." The International Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Learning 25 (1): 23-35. doi:10.18848/2327-7971/CGP/v25i01/23-35
Kulas, D. Winjobi, O., Zhou, W., Shonnard, D.R. (2018), Effects of Co-product Uses on Environmental and Economic Sustainability of Hydrocarbon Biofuel from One- and Two-Step Pyrolysis of Poplar, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 6 (5), pp 5969–5980, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b04390
Gracida-Alvarez, U.R., Mitchell, M.K., Sacramento-Rivero, J.C., Shonnard, D.R. (2018) Effect of Temperature and Vapor Residence Time on the Micropyrolysis Products of Waste High Density Polyethylene, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 57 (6), pp 1912–1923, DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.7b04362.
Ukaew, S; Klemetsrud, B.; Schoenborn, J; Shonnard, D; (2018) Effects of torrefaction temperature and acid pretreatment on the yield and quality of fast pyrolysis bio-oil from rice straw, Journal of Applied and Analytical Pyrolysis, 129, January 2018, 112-122, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2017.11.021.
Klemetsrud B., Klinger J., Bar Ziv B., Shonnard D., (2017) A kinetic study of the fast micro-pyrolysis of hybrid poplar, Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 128 (C), November 2017, 353-362, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2017.09.014
Ankathi, S.K., Potter, J., Shonnard, D.R., (2018) Carbon Footprint and Energy Analysis of Bio-CH4 from a Mixture of Food Waste and Dairy Manure in Denver, CO, Environmental Progress / Sustainable Energy, 37(3), 1101-1111, DOI 10.1002/ep.12762.
Handler, R., Shi, R., Shonnard, D.R., 2017, Land-use Change Implications for Large-scale Cultivation of Algae Feedstocks in the United States Gulf Coast, Journal of Cleaner Production, 153, 15-25.
Shi, R., Ukaew, S., Archer, D.W., Pearlson, M., Lewis, K.C., Shonnard, D.R., 2017, Life Cycle Water Footprint Analysis for Rapeseed Derived Jet Fuel in North Dakota, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 5, 3845-3854.
Klemetsrud, B., Eatherton, D., Shonnard, D.R., 2017, Effects of lignin content and temperature on the properties of hybrid poplar bio-oil, char, and gas obtained by fast pyrolysis, Energy & Fuels, 31, 2879-2886.
Winjobi, O., Zhou, W., Kulas, D., Nowicki, J., Shonnard, D.R., (2017) Production of hydrocarbon fuel using two-step torrefaction and fast pyrolysis of pine. Part 2: Life-cycle carbon footprint, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 5 (6), pp 4541–4551 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b00373.
Winjobi, O., Shonnard, D.R., Zhou, W., (2017) Production of hydrocarbon fuel using two-step torrefaction and fast pyrolysis of pine. Part 1: Techno-economic analysis, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 5 (6), pp 4529–4540 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b00372.

Teaching Statement

Dr. Shonnard teaches courses in chemical reaction engineering, life cycle analysis, and waste plastics conversion.