Overview
Dr. Jillian Goldfarb received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University and Ph.D. from Brown University. Her primary appointment at Cornell University is as Associate Professor in the Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Dr. Goldfarb is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the 2022 Cornell University College of Engineering James and Mary Tien Excellence in Teaching Award. She was a U.S. National Academies of Science Delegate to 1st U.S.-Africa Frontiers of Science Symposium, a 2022 Visiting Professor of Excellence at the University of Trento, a 2017 ACS Green Chemistry Institute GreenX: Rising Star and a Fulbright Scholar to Italy.
Research Focus
What do sustainable fuels and pottery sherds have in common? In Prof. Jillian Goldfarb’s lab, quite a lot. Dr. Goldfarb merges her passion for Ancient Rome with her expertise in biofuels and carbon materials to develop robust techniques for organic residue analysis and new models of residue degradation pathways as a function of archeological site conditions. In her laboratory, engineers, chemists, materials scientists, and archeologists work side-by-side to transcend disciplinary boundaries.
For example, Dr. Goldfarb’s process for converting agricultural waste to biofuels using inexpensive clay minerals as in situ catalysts is informing new archeological studies about how the composition of ancient pottery – and the clay content of the soil in which it is often buried – impact the biomarkers we detect in oil residues. Her lab is designing a high pressure solvent extraction system that can remove both bio-oils from char materials (enhancing the economic viability of the modern integrated biorefinery) and perform non-destructive residue analysis on porous ceramics (co-enhancing preservation of ancient artifacts and knowledge of their contents).
For more information about Prof. Goldfarb’s research, instrumentation and facilities, you can check out her website at: blogs.cornell.edu/goldfarb
Publications
Karod, M., S. Rubin, J.L. Goldfarb. “Synergistic Improvements in Energy Recovery and Bio-oil Quality through Integrated Thermochemical Valorization of Agro-industrial Waste of Varying Moisture Content.” Bioresource Technology. 2024, 394, 130173
Pecchi, M., J.L. Goldfarb. “Sample preparation impacts chromatographic analysis of solvent-extracted secondary char resulting from hydrothermal carbonization.” ACS Fall 2023 National Meeting ENFL Division. August 2023.
Hubble, A.H., B.A. Childs, M. Pecchi, H. Sudibyo, J.W. Tester, J.L. Goldfarb “Role of in situ (in contact with biomass) and ex situ (in contact with pyrolysis vapors) transition metal catalysts on pyrolysis of cherry pits.” Fuel. 2023, 352, 129062
Gerdes, R.F., S.W. Manning, J.M. Regenstein, J.L. Goldfarb. “Investigating the Early History of Olive Oil Using Environmentally Relevant Replica Experiments Inspired by Biofuels Research.” ACS Fall 2022 National Meeting AGFD Division. August 2022.
Ma, Q., K. Wang, H. Sudibyo, J.W. Tester, G. Huang, L. Han, J.L. Goldfarb. “Production of Upgraded Biocrude from Hydrothermal Liquefaction using Clays as in situ Catalysts.” Energy Conversion and Management. 2021, 247, 114764
Goldfarb, J.L, G. Dou, M. Salari, M.W. Grinstaff. “Biomass-Based Fuels and Activated Carbon Electrode Materials: An Integrated Approach to Green Energy Systems.” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 2017, 5, 3046-3054
Schievano, A., F. Adani, L. Buessing, A. Botto, E.N. Casoliba, M. Rossoni, and J.L. Goldfarb. “An Integrated Biorefinery Concept for Olive Mill Waste Management: Supercritical CO2 Extraction and Energy Recovery.” Green Chemistry. 2015, 17, 2874-2887
