Joe Sagues

Bio

Dr. Sagues is the Principal Investigator of the Biocarbon Utilization & Sequestration (BUS) Lab in the Biological & Agricultural Engineering Department at NC State University. He has experience in research, development, and demonstration of innovative bioprocessing technologies at corporations, universities, and national labs. During graduate school, he conducted independent research as a Technology-to-Market Scholar at the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) and as an Office of Science Graduate Student Research Fellow (SCGSR) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

The BUS Lab takes an integrated approach to innovating technologies that utilize and sequester biogenic carbon. The aim of our work is to leverage the bioeconomy for carbon drawdown. We are bridging fundamental advances in synthetic biology and chemical catalysis with bioprocess engineering to innovate carbon-negative bioproducts that range from feed, chemicals, fuels, and materials.

When developing a new technology, the BUS Lab takes into account the entire technology-to-market pathway, starting with fundamental research and ending with commercialization. Such a comprehensive approach increases the odds of commercial success by eliminating developmental hurdles and pitfalls at an early stage.

Publications

• COUPLING CIRCULARITY WITH CARBON NEGATIVITY IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SYSTEMS , JOURNAL OF THE ASABE (2022)
• A simple method for producing bio-based anode materials for lithium-ion batteries , Green Chemistry (2020)
• Decarbonizing agriculture through the conversion of animal manure to dietary protein and ammonia fertilizer , BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY (2020)
• Depolymerization of Lignin into Monophenolics By Ferrous/ Persulfate Reagent Under Mild Conditions , ChemSusChem (2020)
• Prospects for bioenergy with carbon capture & storage (BECCS) in the United States pulp and paper industry , Energy & Environmental Science (2020)
• Are lignin-derived carbon fibers graphitic enough? , Green Chemistry (2019)
• Enhanced carbon dioxide removal from coupled direct air capture-bioenergy systems , SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & FUELS (2019)
• Potential for ethanol production from different sorghum cultivars , Industrial Crops and Products (2017)
• Techno-economic analysis of ethanol production from sugarcane bagasse using a Liquefaction plus Simultaneous Saccharification and co-Fermentation process , Bioresource Technology (2016)
• Optimization of dilute-phosphoric-acid steam pretreatment of Eucalyptus benthamii for biofuel production , Applied Energy (2014)