INFORM November/December 2025

8 • inform November/December 2025, Vol. 36 (10)

mercial incumbents. This effort led to a patent and published work in ACS Central Science in 2018: “From tree to tape: Direct synthesis of pressure sensitive adhesives from depolymerized raw lignocellulosic biomass.” The second effort is our work that leveraged a new pro cess-intensification strategy enabled by glycerine that led to the simultaneous deconstruction (through liquid hydro gen donation) and separation of lignin-rich feedstocks, such as technical lignin. This process, called reactive distilla tion—reductive catalytic deconstruction (RD-RCD), elimi nated the need for high reaction pressures and hydrogen gas, and it enabled the design of a continuous and scal able process that ultimately nucleated a startup company, Lignolix, which is focused on the valorization of biomass feedstocks. Moreover, the utility of the process was demon strated through the generation of biobased 3D-printing res ins as explained in a patent and published work in Science Advances in 2022: “Ambient-pressure lignin valorization to high-performance polymers by intensified reductive cata lytic deconstruction.” Each of the efforts has led to follow-on work examining technoeconomic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) impacts, feedstock-structure-property relationships, and the examination of additional under-utilized sources of lignin-rich waste. INFORM: What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in your research, and how did you overcome them? Epps: One of the biggest challenges that we face in our biobased feedstock-to-materials research is the complexity of the problem. Essentially, there is a strong interdependence between the choice of feedstock, its location, the process used for its deconstruction and purification, the resulting chemical/ material composition and properties, and the ultimate poten tial applications. We were very fortunate to participate in the National Science Foundation’s Growing Convergence Research (GCR) program, which allowed us to bring together a team of researchers spanning ecohydrology, polymer science, engi neering and catalysis, TEA and LCA, biomolecular engineering, and animal and food science. Through this highly collabora tive and multidisciplinary team, we developed a systematic framework to break down this complex valorization problem into ‘bite-size’ chunks so that we could make substantial fun damental science progress, while simultaneously being able to address the big-picture issues. Moreover, the GCR activities led to new international and industrial collaborations, as well as the launching of a startup company (Lignolix), to tackle specific challenges in biomass valorization. As a final note on this question, the framework

that we developed as part of the GCR has greatly informed our new efforts in plastics waste valorization, for which the chal lenges and opportunities are equally as complex – through our Center for Plastics Innovation (a Department of Energy, Energy Frontier Research Center) and adjacent activities. INFORM: How has your research evolved over the years, and what emerging trends do you see that excite you? Epps: When we began exploring lignin-derivable materials, our focus was primarily on understanding the structure and proper ties of polymers from lignin deconstruction products, without considering feedstock sourcing, life-cycle and economic implica tions, scale-up opportunities, or end-use applications. Over the past 13+ years, we have begun incorporating TEA and LCA into our basic science, using that knowledge to identify both funda mental and translational gaps. We have strengthened existing collaborations and established new ones, allowing us to use our structure–property–processing knowledge to develop mate rials and intellectual property that advance sustainability and resource security goals, while also improving performance. Going forward, we are particularly excited by advances in materials synthesis, reactor design (toward electrification, intensification, and modularity), and the growing emphasis on holistic life-cycle impact evaluation. INFORM: What role do you see AOCS playing in fos tering collaboration among scientists and industry professionals? Epps: AOCS is in a wonderful position to continue facilitating collaborations between academia and industry. The Annual Meeting session topics and session organization around indus try-relevant, yet fundamentally accessible, topics bridge the gap between the academy and industry allowing each group ample space to present exciting breakthroughs and highlight critical challenges to advance technology and society. This pairing fosters robust and sustainable post-session interactions from which I have personally benefited. INFORM: What advice would you give to young scientists and researchers? Epps: I would advise young scientists and researchers to fol low their passions and find a subject that genuinely interests them—something that sparks innate curiosity. That curios ity will lead to countless opportunities to ask questions, form hypotheses, and seek answers. As part of that process, learn from everything—every interaction, every seminar (even if it seems off-topic), every experiment. As someone once told me, the only experiment that is not worthwhile is the one you do not learn anything from. Finally, collaboration is key. Leverage your skillset to make an impact but also recognize when collab oration can multiply that impact.