Zengshe Liu |
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Zengshe (Kevin) Liu, Ph.D. ORCID: 0000-0001-6804-6556 |
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Green Materials from Plant Oils
♦ Research Chemist with a PhD in polymer chemistry
o Biopolymers, composites, biolubricants, biosurfactants, antioxidants
♦ Modification of vegetable oils and other renewable materials for industrial applications
♦ Experience collaborating with government, university and industrial partners
♦ Over 90 peer-reviewed publications (ORCID: 0000-0001-6804-6556)
Soybean Oil
♦ Developed clean processes for production of soybean oil polymers in supercritical CO2 and with 3D printing technology which are used for:
o Hydrogels for controlled drug release
o Elastomers for chewing gum base materials
o Matrix for bio-composites
o Polymeric surfactants
o Biolubricants
♦ Produced starch graft copolymers having controlled architecture
Tung Oil and Cardanol Oil
♦ Have produced and evaluated modified products from tung oil and cardanol oil:
o Biopolymers
o PVC plasticizers
o Diesel fuel additives
o Antioxidants
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3D-printing machine | 3D-printed composites |
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Nano-hydrogel particles loaded with anti-cancer drug for breast cancer treatment |
Soy-based hydrogel ready for biomedical and surfactants |
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Soybean oil-based crosslinked polymers (PESO) |
Anti-cancer drug (Dox) release from hydrogels |
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CO2 pressure-reactor apparatus |
Tung oil tree |
left-to-right: Cashew Apple, nut, and shell
Cardanol obtained from Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL)
BIO:
Dr. Zengshe (Kevin) Liu is a Research Chemist in the Bio-Oils Research Unit at the USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, IL. Dr. Liu earned B.S. and M.S. degrees from Wuhan University, China in 1978 and 1981, respectively. He was an Associate Professor at Henan University from 1987 to 1989. Dr. Liu earned a Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo, Canada in 1995. His doctoral work focused on swellable polymer supported Wilkinson's catalysts for hydrogen transfer hydrogenation reactions.
Dr. Liu joined ARS in 1999 where his research primarily focuses on polymer chemistry and oleochemistry as they relate to chemical modification of lipids for industrial applications. Over the course of his career with ARS, Dr. Liu has published over 100 manuscripts, book chapters, conference proceedings and presented numerous papers at national and international conferences, often as an invited speaker.
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