About

Xuejun Pan is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and Douglas D. Sorenson Professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research focuses on pretreatment and fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass, enzymatic and chemical saccharification of lignocellulose to produce sugars, and the chemical and biological conversion of lignocellulose to liquid fuels and platform chemicals. He has a background with two Ph.D. degrees, one in Applied Bioscience from Hokkaido University, Japan, obtained in 1999, and another in Chemical Engineering from Tianjin University of Science and Technology, China, obtained in 1993. His work involves fundamental understanding of physical and chemical changes of plant cell wall components during biorefining, and he has contributed to the development of methods for producing oligosaccharides, liquid hydrocarbon fuels, and functionalized materials from cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin. Pan is actively involved in teaching courses related to engineering properties of food and biological materials and biorefining, and he has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and patents in the field of biomass conversion and biorefining.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Organic chemistry
• Chemistry
• Composite material
• Chemical engineering
• Polymer chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Nuclear chemistry
• Engineering
• Pulp and paper industry
• Waste management

Selected publications

• Biomass Demineralization: A Critical Need for Future Biorefineries

  Chemical Reviews · 2026-04-08

  articleOpen access

  Biomass contains up to 14 essential elements that serve as nutrients for plant growth and development, including photosynthesis and enzyme functionalities. These elements in different chemical forms (e.g., minerals) constitute the inorganic fraction of biomass and can cause operational issues in thermal and biochemical biomass conversion technologies. In biomass gasification and pyrolysis processes, for instance, inorganics can cause fouling, tar formation, and corrosion. In catalytic and biochemical processes, inorganics can poison catalysts, alter biochemical pathways, and modify product yields and selectivity. This review provides an overview of the inorganic content in biomass feedstocks, the critical role inorganics play in plant biochemistry, the effect that inorganics have in various thermochemical and biochemical biomass conversion technologies, and different approaches to remove them from biomass. We provide recommendations for future research, focusing on developing technologies to effectively remove inorganics from biomass, using the inorganics to improve soil quality and for alternative applications, and designing biorefineries to convert demineralized biomass obtained from diverse sources.

  PublisherDOI

• Synthetic galactooligosaccharides and milk protein conjugates enhance the prebiotic efficacy for Levilactobacillus brevis

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Cover Feature: Nitrogen‐Functionalized Lignin: Current Status, Applications, and Challenges (ChemSusChem 16/2025)

  ChemSusChem · 2025-08-06

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The Cover Feature highlights the broad potential of nitrogen-functionalized lignin across sustainable technologies, including energy, environmental remediation, agriculture, catalysis, and biomedicine. The illustration incorporates symbolic elements—batteries, water treatment, plants, and apoptotic cells—representing versatile applications. A nitrogen atom is depicted as a functional bridge, enhancing lignin’s reactivity and functionality. Together, these elements underscore lignin’s promise as a green, adaptable platform for future innovations. More information can be found in the Review by H. Du, X. Pan and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202500607).

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Engineering Robust, Hierarchical, and Biodegradable Cellulose Foams for Smart Packaging

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Inorganic components identification and their combined effects with CaO on pyrolytic mechanisms of sewage sludge

  Separation and Purification Technology · 2025-12-27

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Lignocellulosic Films: Preparation, Properties, and Applications

  Chemical Reviews · 2025-12-10 · 17 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Lignocellulosic films (LCFs) have garnered significant attention due to their unique combination of flexibility, functionality, cost-effectiveness, and eco-friendliness. Defined as thin, compact, and continuous sheets with a typical thickness in the range of 10-100 μm, LCFs have been used in various fields, including packaging, flexible electronics, energy storage and harvesting, sensing, water treatment, and agriculture. Based on preparation strategies and chemical compositions, LCFs can be categorized into cellulose derivative films, regenerated cellulose films, nanocellulose films, hemicellulose films, lignin-based films, and whole lignocellulosic biomass films. While previous reviews often focus on specific types of LCFs, e.g., nanocellulose films, a comprehensive review covering all categories and their recent advancements is still lacking. This review aims to address this gap by providing a thorough overview of the basic structure and chemistry of lignocellulosic biomass, preparation strategies, functionalization methods, and the broad spectrum of applications of LCFs. Additionally, it examines the environmental and economic feasibility of LCFs and identifies strategies to overcome existing challenges, offering valuable insights for advancing the field and supporting future innovation in sustainable material science.

  PublisherDOI

• Metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis of macadamia seedling responses to drought stress and the role of MiGST in enhancing drought resistance

  Industrial Crops and Products · 2025-04-08 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Macadamia integrifolia is a nut crop native to the subtropical rainforests of eastern Australia, and its planted area in China has been ranked first in the world in 2022. However, it is planted mainly in mountainous areas and drought stress in these areas often seriously affects its normal growth and yield. Moreover, the reaction mechanism of macadamia nuts resistant drought stress is still poorly understood. In this study, leaf physiological indices were analyzed at 0, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 h after hydroponic macadamia seedlings subjected to three stress levels: 0 % (control), 15 % (moderate stress) and 25 % (severe stress) of PEG6000, then the metabolomics and transcriptomics at 0, 12, 24 and 48 h were analyzed to identify the key metabolic pathway, metabolites and key genes response to drought stress. At last, the function of candidate gene was studied by genetic transformation in Arabidopsis and yeast. The results showed that a consistent increase in relative electrolyte leakage (REL), soluble sugars (SS), soluble proteins (SP), proline (Pro), betaine (BA), H 2 O 2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) content was found under drought stress, and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities was up to peak at 24 h and 36 h, respectively, and then decreased, the peroxidase (POD) activity peaked at 12 h, while catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) both peaked at 36 h and then decreased. A total of 1694 metabolites and 27,835 differentially expressed genes were detected by transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses, among which 1428 were transcription factors. The integrated analysis of transcriptome and metabolome identified that the amino acid synthesis pathways, as well as the arginine, proline, and glutathione metabolic pathways, were the main drought-resistant pathways. Glutathione, proline, and hydroxyproline were the major metabolites under drought stress, and glutathione S-transferase of Macadamia integrifolia ( MiGST ) was an important gene in response to drought stress. Transformation experiments in yeast and Arabidopsis thaliana confirmed that drought resistance of Macadamia integrifolia could be improved by enhancing osmotic stress and reducing oxidative damage due to the increasing MiGST expression levels. So the response mechanism of macadamia seedlings to drought stress was clarified in the study and our results could provide a theoretical basis for exploring macadamia germplasm resources and cultivating drought-tolerant hybrid varieties. • Osmoregulatory substances and antioxidant enzyme systems respond rapidly to drought in Macadamia seedlings. • Amino acid biosynthesis, metabolism of arginine, proline and glutathione are the main drought resistance pathways. • Macadamia integrifolia is drought-resistant by altering MiGST (glutathione S-transferase). • Overexpression of MiGST gene can improve drought resistance of yeast and Arabidopsis thaliana .

  PublisherDOI

• Seasonal trait network patterns of nine Vitis species in Karst Region

  Plant and Soil · 2025-10-31

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Synthesis of Potential Prebiotic Oligosaccharides with Diverse Glycosidic Linkages from Corn Stover Via Simultaneous Hydrolysis and Glycosylation

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Advances in humins formation mechanism, inhibition strategies, and value-added applications

  CHINESE JOURNAL OF CATALYSIS (CHINESE VERSION) · 2025-04-01 · 16 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Fundamental Understanding of HDA Process: One-Step Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Furan-Based Precursors for Drop-in Liquid Fuel

  NSF · $337k · 2012–2016

• Fabrication and fundamental understanding of cellulase-mimetic bifunctional solid acids for hydrolyzing cellulose

  NSF · $325k · 2017–2022

• CAREER: Fundamental Understanding of Behaviors and Impacts of Cell Wall Lignin during Bioconversion of Lignocellulose to Fuel Ethanol

  NSF · $450k · 2009–2014

• Fast Saccharification of Lignocellulosic Biomass under Mild Conditions in the Medium of Concentrated Lithium Bromide

  NSF · $299k · 2012–2016

Frequent coauthors

• J. Y. Zhu

  39 shared

• Ning Li

  31 shared

• Chang Geun Yoo

  York University

  21 shared

• Qiang Yang

  China Academy of Engineering Physics

  20 shared

• Roland Gleisner

  Forest Products Laboratory

  17 shared

• John Ralph

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  17 shared

• Xiaohui Yang

  15 shared

• Wenshuai Zhu

  14 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Biological Systems Engineering

  University of Wisconsin-Madison

  2008

• M.S., Biological Systems Engineering

  University of Wisconsin-Madison

  2004

• B.S., Biological Systems Engineering

  University of Wisconsin-Madison

  2002

Awards & honors

• Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor
• Douglas D.. Sorenson Professor