NAME Sudhagar Mani TITLE Assistant Professor DEPARTMENT Biochemical Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering & Biological and Agricultural Engineering/Biorefining and Carbon Cycling Program PHONE 706-542-2358 FAX 706-542-8806 ADDRESS 511, Driftmier Engineering Center University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602 EMAIL smani@engr.uga.edu EDUCATION Ph.D., Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada M.S., Food Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India B.S., Agricultural Engineering, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India RESEARCH INTERESTS Feedstock supply analysis, biomass preprocessing and pelletization, Supercritical extraction, Torrefaction, Gasification, Life Cycle Analysis, Bio-composites and Bio-products

Sudhagar Mani

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Dr. Sudhagar Mani is Assistant Professor of Engineering at University of Georgia. He has worked in research and teaching related to biomass feedstock engineering and systems analysis over 7 years focusing primarily on developing technologies to solve biomass feedstock related problems for economical and efficient collection, transport and preprocessing of lignocellulosic biomass from agriculture and forest sources. Focus areas of his work include biomass feedstock resource assessment, feedstock supply logistics modeling and analysis, biomass drying and size reduction, pelletization or granulation/densification of biomass, Steam pretreatment and thermal treatment (torrefaction) of biomass to increase energy density, supercritical gasification, life cycle assessment of products and processes. Through his research, he has authored or coauthored 15 referred journal articles, 1 book chapter, 3 technical reports and 45 conference papers and presentations. He teaches Engineering Thermodynamics, Physical Unit Operations, Biomass Feedstock Engineering courses and developing two new senior level graduate courses on Renewable Energy Engineering and Engineering Life Cycle Analysis at the University of Georgia.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Mani, S. and S. Sokhansanj. 2007. Rotary Drum Drying. In: Food Drying: Science and Technology (ed. Hui, et al.) Destech Publications Inc., Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Mani, S., S. Sokhansanj, X. Bi, and A. Turhollow. 2006. Economics of producing fuel pellets from biomass. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 22(3):1-6.

Mani, S., L.G. Tabil and S. Sokhansanj. 2006. Effects of compressive force, particle size and moisture content on mechanical properties of biomass pellets. Biomass and Bioenergy, 30(7): 648-654.

Mani, S., L.G. Tabil and S. Sokhansanj. 2006. Specific energy requirement for compacting corn stover. Bioresource Technology, 97(12):1420-1426.

Mani, S., L.G. Tabil, and S. Sokhansanj. 2006. Relaxation characteristics of pelletized wheat and barley straws, corn stover and switchgrass grinds. In: Science in Thermal and Chemical Biomass Conversion, A.V. Bridgewater and D.G.B. Bobcock (Eds.), Vol. 1, pp. 340-350, Newbury Perks, UK: CPL Press.

Sokhansanj, S., S. Mani, S. Stumborg, R. Samson and J. Fenton. 2006. Production and distribution of cereal straw on the Canadian prairies. Canadian Biosystems Engineering, 48: 3.39-3.46.

Samson, R., S. Mani, R. Boddey, S. Sokhansanj, D. Quesada, S. Urquiaga, V. Reis, C.H. Lem and C. Carpio. 2005. The potential of C4 perennial grasses for developing a global bio-heat industry. Critical Reviews in Plant Science, 24(5-6):461-495.

Mani, S., L.G. Tabil and S. Sokhansanj. 2004. Mechanical properties of corn stover grind. Transactions of the ASAE 47(6): 1983-1990.

Mani, S., L.G. Tabil and S. Sokhansanj. 2004. Evaluation of compaction equations applied to four biomass species. Canadian Biosystems Engineering 46: 3.55-3.61.

Mani, S., L.G. Tabil and S. Sokhansanj. 2004. Grinding performance and physical properties of wheat and barley straws, corn stover and switchgrass. Biomass and Bioenergy 27(4): 339-352.

Mani, S., L.G. Tabil and S. Sokhansanj. 2003. An overview of compaction of biomass grinds. Powder Handling and Processing 15(2): 160-168.