Nikolay VEDERNIKOV

Professor Nikolay VEDERNIKOV Head of Laboratory Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry Dzerbenes iela 27 Riga, LV-1006 Latvia Phone: +371-7550635 Fax: +371-7310135 E-mail: ved@edi.lv

Born: February 8, 1937, Tver, Russia

Interests:

Wood Chemistry and Technology

Research. The theory of differential catalysis of the pentosan hydrolysis and pentose dehydration reactions has been elaborated. Regularity of catalytic activity of cations in the pentose dehydration reactions has been revealed. The mechanisms and kinetics of hydrolytic and mechano-chemical depolymerization of polysaccharides and the relationships of changes in supramolecular structure of cellulose in the furfural obtaining process have been established. The results obtained are described in 313 scientific publications, and 24 patents in 11 countries have been received.

Practice. The new technologies of furfural production from hardwood, corncobs as well as cotton, sunflower and rice seed hulls were realized in 7 plants, with the annual profit more than 6 million USD. A licence was sold, and contracts with firms of Slovenia, Hungary and Finland were successfully performed with an increase in the furfural yield by 30% on the average. Prof. N.Vedernikov was the leading expert in furfural production in the USSR and supervised all the experiments and implementation of his and other state-of-the-art technologies. He worked at 6 ethanol and 15 furfural production plants, including the furfural plants constructed by the firms: Escher Wyss (Germany), Rosenlew (Finland), Sunds Defibrator (Sweden), Agrifurane (France). For the first time in the world’s industrial practice, the problem of the joint production of furfural and ethanol from deciduous wood and agricultural residues was solved and, in 1997, was successfully realized on an industrial scale.

Languages: Russian, Latvian, English

Education

• Technical College, 1954
• Riga Technical University (Faculty of Chemistry), 1959
• Dr.chem. (Candidate of Science in former USSR, Ph.D. in Western countries), Latvian Academy of Sciences, 1965
• Dr.habil.chem.(Doctor of Science in former USSR), Latvian Academy of Sciences, 1981

 

Experience

Institute of Wood Chemistry:

• Engineer, 1959 - 1965
• Senior Researcher, 1965 - 1971
• Head of Laboratory of Polysaccharide Chemistry, 1971 -
• Deputy Director, 1985 -1987, 1997 - 2000
• Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the Scientific Council,  1997 - 2000

Honours and Awards

• Corresponding Member, Latvian Academy of Sciences, 1989
• Full Member, Latvian Academy of Sciences, 1992
• Member, Latvian Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, 1992
• Fellow, International Academy of Wood Science, 2002
• The Badge of Honour (USSR), 1981
• Latvian SSR State Prize, 1982
• State Emeritus Scientist, 2000
• Gold Medal of USSR Exhibition of National Economy Achievements, Moscow, 1980, 1989
• Latvian Academy of Sciences Presidium First Award, 1975, 1988
• The American Biographical Institute. Five Hundred Leaders of Influence, 1997, p. 287
• Latvian State Emeritus Scientist, 2000.

 

Professional Activities and Memberships

• Scientific Secretary and Member, Scientific Council for Wood Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1969 - 1991
• Expert, USSR State Planning Committee, 1981 - 1991
• Expert, USSR State Committee for Science and Engineering, 1981 - 1991
• Member, Expert Committee for Chemical Technology, USSR State Supreme Scientific Certification Board, 1982 - 1991
• Member, Editorial Board for Wood Chemistry, 1981 - 1993
• Member, Editorial Board for Latvian Journal of Chemistry, 1989 -
• Member, Board of Appeal of Latvian Board of Patents, 1995 - 2000
• Member, Coordinative Council of Latvian National Program Production and Application of Bio-Fuel in Latvia, 1996 - 2000
• Deputy Chairman of Habilitation and Promotion Council, Institute of Wood Chemistry, 1993 - 1998
• Member of Scientific Council, Institute of Wood Chemistry, 1972 - 2000
• Deputy Chairman and Chairman of Scientific Council, Institute of Wood Chemistry, 1997 – 2000

Lectures

• New theory and technology for furfural production. Lectures for specialist groups from Japan, France, Canada, Great Britain, Israel, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, China, Iran , Indonesia, and Malaysia, 1989 – 2006
• Development of the furfural production in the world and new theory of its formation from plant raw materials (invited lectures). Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences, Uppsala, 1994

Riga Technical University, Faculty of Materials Science and Applied Chemistry:

• Production of furfural
• Hydrolysis of wood and ethanol production

Recent/Representative Publications

• M.S. Dudkin, V.S. Gromov, N.A. Vedernikov, R.G. Katkevich, N.K. Cherno. Hemicelluloses, 1991, Riga: Zinatne, 488 pp. (Monograph, in Russian).

• N.A. Vedernikov. On the analogy between Arrhenius law and the dependence of catalytic activity of cations during pentose dehydratation on the ionization energy of corresponding atoms. - Wood Chemistry, 1980, N1, pp.114-115 (in Russian).
• N.A. Vedernikov, V.P. Karlivan, I.M. Roze, A.J. Rolle. Mechanochemical destruction of plant raw material polysaccharides in presence of small amounts of concentrated sulfuric acid. - Siberian Chemical Journal, 1991, N 5, pp. 67-72.
• N.A. Vedernikov, L.V. Mileeva, I.K. Kruma, A.Y. Bucena. Kinetics of the furfural formation from xylose in solutions of various valence metallic salts. - Wood Chemistry, 1993, N 5, pp. 30-35; N 6, pp. 53-59 (in Russian).
• N.A. Vedernikov, Popov S.S., Bucena A.Y. Kinetics of the pentose dehydration in thin layer on the surface of inert carrier. - Wood Chemistry, 1993, N 5, pp. 36-41; N 6, pp. 41-45 (in Russian)
• N. Vedernikov. New approach in the furfural production from pulping waste liquors. - The 8th International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Helsinki, Finland, June 6 - 9, 1995. - Proceedings, vol. 3, pp. 367-370.
• N.Vedernikov, I.Kruma, J.Zandersons, A.Zhurinsh, A.Tardenaka, B.Spince, J.Chirkova. Production of furfural and carbon materials from deciduous tree wood wastes. - 7th European Workshop on Lignocellulosics and Pulp, Turku, Finland, August 26-29, 2002, Proceedings, pp. 51-54.
• N.Vedernikov. Depolymerization of hardwood pentosans and furfural formation. - Report on the Business Meating of the International Academy of Wood Science, Cesis, Latvia, August 4-9, 2003, 14p.
• J.Zandersons, N.Vedernikov, I.Kruma, M.Puke, J.Rizhikovs. Impact of birch wood prehydrolysis conditions upon the yield and properties of activated carbon from lignocellulose. - 8th European Workshop on Lignocellulosics and Pulp, Riga, Latvia, August 22-25, 2004, Proceedings, pp. 543-546.
• N.Vedernikov, J.Zandersons, I.Kruma, M.Puke, J.Ryzhikovs. Principal organic chemicals and activated carbon from hardwood residues. - In: Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability, Vol. 15, Integrative Approaches towards Sustainability in the Baltic Sea region. Ed. W.L.Filho, A.Ubelis, Peter Lang Publisher Hause, Frankfurt am Main, 2004, pp. 451-457.
• N.Vedernikov, I.Kruma, M.Puke. Influence of temperature on the kinetics of acetic acid formation from wheat straw. - 9th European Workshop on Lignocellulosics and Pulp, Vienna, Austria, August 27-30, 2006, Proceedings, pp. 564-567.
• N.Vedernikovs. Ethanol and furfural from wood. - In: Ulman Encyclopedia, Belgium (in press).

Research Projects

• N. Vedernikov (Head of Project). Technical and Economical Evaluation of the Furfural Production in Latvia. Latvian Ministry of Agriculture (1997).
• N.Vedernikov. Pre-Feasibility Study for Furfural Production in Latvia. Latvian Development Agency (1999).
• N. Vedernikov (Head of Project). Elaboration of Theoretical Backgrounds for Technology to Obtain Furfural and other Products from Alder Wood. Latvian Council of Science (1997 - 2000).
• N. Vedernikov (Head of Project). Obtaining of Furfural and Activated Carbon from Birch Wood Wastes.  Latvian Council of Science (2001 - 2004).
• N. Vedernikov (Head of Project). Birch Wood Cellulose Depolymerization in the Furfural Obtaining Process.  Latvian Council of Science (2005 -2007).
• N. Vedernikov (Head of Project). Obtaining of Acetic Acid and Carbonaceous Oxydised Microporous Sorbents from Woodworking Industry  Wastes.  Latvian Council of Science (2005 -2007).

Last update 03.04.2007