Fu Yao, a professor of USTC, has found a way to develop environmentally-friendly materials made from straw. 

Fu aspired to become a scientist from childhood. He left his hometown Chongqing and headed for Hefei to study and conduct academic research at the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 1996. 

“At the beginning, I always overestimated my own research and theses and had high expectations of them, only to find my papers were always rejected by reviewers,” Fu said. 

He kept improving and trying with his supervisor and friends’ encouragement. 

Fu Yao obtained his doctoral degree and started his academic career in USTC in March 2005. He won a special award from the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that year. 

Fu Yao, a professor of USTC, wins the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In December 2007, the Anhui Provincial Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Finance approved expansion of a USTC laboratory to a Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomass Clean Energy. 

Fu worked in the lab and then served as its director. In recent years, it has undertaken a group of research projects under the National 973 Plan, the National 863 Plan and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The research involves biomass composition and structure, preparation of bio oil from biomass pyrolysis, bio hydrogen production from organic waste and preparation of highly active catalysts. 

“Anhui is a big province for agriculture,” Fu said, adding that the burning of straw causes environmental pollution, which is an issue needing urgent solution.

He suggested improving the added value of straw and the industrial chain with the help of technology. 

In 2014, Fu supported his student Xu Hai to set up Hefei Leaf Biotech Co, which cooperated with the Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomass Clean Energy and the Advanced Technology Research Institute of USTC. 

With the support of local government, the company soon got on the right track.

The straw hydrolysis technology independently developed by Leaf Biotech can achieve 100 percent utilization of straw and increase its added value without waste emission. 

A front-end monomer of the degradable plastics furan polyester that can be extracted from straw is a low-carbon and environmentally-friendly material. It can replace traditional petrochemical products such as PET plastics and be used as medical polymer material to make human bones and medical devices. It can also be used to produce children's toys, baby supplies, automotive plastics and food packaging bags. 

According to Fu Yao, the technology has reached internationally advanced standards. 

Leaf Biotech completed a 100-ton pilot experiment last December and plans to build a 1,000-ton demonstration project for the PEF products, Fu noted. 

Efforts will also be made to develop a green synthesis technology to cut energy consumption and pollution, he added. 

Fu, a professor and doctoral supervisor at USTC’s School of Chemistry and Materials Science, was a candidate of the National 10,000 Program for Young Top-notch Talent and has won the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, and the second prize of the National Natural Science Award. He now chairs a bioenergy project of the Ministry of Science and Technology under the National 973 Plan.