Ananda Amarasekara

Ananda Amarasekara
Ananda Amarasekara, Ph.D.
Professor

Education

  • Ph.D. City University of New York, NY, U.S.A. 1985
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. 1985 – 1987
  • B.Sc. University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. 1979

Research Interests

My research interests are in renewable electrical energy storage technologies and sustainable biofuels.

Li-Ion Battery Recycling.  With the wide use of Li-ion batteries for energy storage in electric vehicles and other applications disposal or recycling of used batteries is becoming a critical research challenge. The electrode coating of common Li-ion batteries black material is composed of valuable Li, Ni, Mn, and Co critical metal containing compounds mixed with graphite carbon. This project involves development of an inexpensive sugar and oxygen-based hydrothermal extraction method for the recovery of Li, Ni, Mn, Co and re-synthesis of active electrode material, which is then used in reassembly of the battery. Technology developed can reduce the cost of Li-ion batteries, electric vehicles, and promote the storage of solar and wind-generated electrical energy.

Flow chart highlighted recycle processes.

Two-step conversion of biomass to hydrocarbon fuels.  This project involves the development of catalytic methods for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to 3rd generation hydrocarbon fuels as shown below. In the first step, polysaccharides in biomass undergo a depolymerization to monosaccharides, which are then dehydrated to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural. Next, furan aldehydes undergo aldol condensations with acetone, producing C5-C20 range fuel precursor “furanic biocrude” in a one pot process. Next, partially oxygenated biocrude is subjected to a reductive deoxygenation with hydrogen and a catalyst, producing a mixture of linear and branched alkanes, comparable to light petroleum crude, which can be processed in conventional petroleum refineries to gasoline, diesel and jet-kerosene.

Furanic Biocrude Model

Professional Activities

  1. Author – Handbook of Cellulosic Ethanol, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2014
  2. Associate Editor – BioEnergy Research. Editorial Board Member – Current Catalysis, Open Catalysis Journal, Mini-Reviews in Organic Chemistry

Selected Recent Publications (Total > 130 Publications)

h index 30, i10 index 62, ~ 3100 citations.
Google Scholar  / Researchgate

  1. Sulfonic acid group functionalized Brönsted acidic ionic liquid catalyzed depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) in water.  Ananda S. Amarasekara, Jay A. Gonzalez, Victor C. Nwankwo. Journal of Ionic Liquids, 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.jil.2022.100021
  2. Pyrolysis Route for the Conversion of Bacterial Cellulose to Graphene Oxide. Ananda S. Amarasekara, Deping Wang. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 2021, 9(1), 113-119. doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c05400
  3. Interactions of Cellulose Model Compound D-Cellobiose with Selected Metal Chlorides in Water: Identification of Chelating Oxygen Atoms. Harshica Fernando, Ananda S. Amarasekara.  European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.202100972
  4. Vanillin based polymers: V. poly(hydrovanilloin – urethane) Ananda S. Amarasekara, Rocio Garcia Obregon, Polymers from Renewable Resources, 2021, 12(2), 35-45, doi: 10.1177/2041247921989898
  5. Catalytic upgrading of biomass derived furans. Fang Deng, Ananda S. Amarasekara. Industrial Crops and Products, 2021, 159, 113055,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2020.113055
  6. Iron(0) Catalyzed Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Switchgrass: The Effects of Co-Catalysts and Reductive Conditions. Ananda S. Amarasekara and Fang Deng. BioEnergy Research, 2020, 13, 1171-1179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-020-10140-9
  7. Biocatalytic reduction of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-furandimethanol using coconut  (Cocos nucifera L.) water. Ananda S. Amarasekara*, Cristian D. Gutierrez Reyes and Rocio Garcia Obregon, Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology, 2020, 24, 101551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcab.2020.101551
  8. A Comparison of Kombucha SCOBY Bacterial Cellulose Purification Methods. Ananda S. Amarasekara, Deping Wang and Tony L. Grady, SN Applied Science, 2020, 2(2), 240. doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-1982-2
  9. Pd/C Catalyzed room-temperature, atmospheric pressure hydrogenation of furanic bio-oils from acidic ionic liquid catalyzed liquefaction of biomass in acetone. Ananda S. Amarasekara, Cristian D. G. Reyes, Fuel Processing Technology, 2020, 200, 10320.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2019.10320
  10. Acidic ionic liquid catalyzed liquefactions of corn cobs and switchgrass in acetone: Analysis of bio-oils using LC-MS and GC-MS.  Ananda S. Amarasekara and Cristian D. Gutierrez Reyes. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2020, 145, 104752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2019.104752

Cover of Handbook of Cellulosic Ethanol

Book
Handbook of Cellulosic Ethanol

Author: Ananda S. Amarasekara
John-Wiley & Sons, New York, 2014, ISBN: 978-1118233009, 608 pages, 89 illustrations

Contact Information

Ananda Amarasekara, Ph.D.
Professor
Phone: (936) 261-3107
Email: asamarasekara@pvamu.edu
Office: 230F Elmer E. O’Banion Science Building