Scientific Program

Conference Series Ltd invites all the participants across the globe to attend 7th International Congress on Biofuels and Bioenergy Toronto, Canada.

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Scientific Program Day 1
Scientific Program Day 2
Scientific Program Day 3

Day 2 :

Keynote Forum

Ajit Sapre

Reliance Industries, India

Keynote: Biofuels and bio-chemicals: One perspective

Time : 09:00-09:30

Conference Series Biofuels-2017 International Conference Keynote Speaker Ajit Sapre photo
Biography:

Ajit Sapre has more than 35 years of experience in the petroleum refining and petrochemicals business, technology development and management. He received his PhD from the University of Delaware and MBA from Cornell University. His experience includes technical and managerial assignments in research, engineering, licensing, business, manufacturing units and corporate planning. He has strong management and technical background in refining, petrochemicals processes development, catalyst development, chemical reaction engineering, optimization technologies, computer integrated manufacturing and intellectual asset management. He has experience in upstream, downstream (refining, petrochemicals, polyester, lubes) and renewable energy sectors. He has published more than 100 technical papers, one book and has more than 45 US patents to his credit.

Abstract:

Reliance Industries has committed a significant R&D effort in the area of renewable energy and bio-chemicals. The current focus at RIL is in four key areas: Agri-residue to kerosene; Jatropa to bio-diesel, algae to bio-crude and cellulosic sugars, and syngas to bio-chemicals, e.g., isoprene and butadiene. This presentation will mainly focus on role of synthetic biology and engineering to make these technologies commercially viable. Innovations in biology especially synthetic biology had made it easier to leverage living micro-organisms to produce products useful for human life and civilization. We at RIL have developed cutting edge tools and technologies for synthetic biology to utilize the fullest potential of this opportunity. We are exploring the use of micro-organisms like algae and natural photosynthesis, which forms the fundamental basis for bio-crude and other value added products such as proteins from algae. Algae, in particular, are highly efficient convertors of sunlight to stored energy. Advances in synthetic biology and gene editing can enable significant increases in productivity or overall photosynthesis. Coupled with the availability of different high-throughput technologies and bioinformatics platform along with innovative engineering breakthroughs, algae can potentially provide opportunities to significantly impact different facets of human life and civilization. To be commercially competitive, improvements in cultivation systems, biology, harvesting, and maximizing oil yield from biomass are still needed. This presentation will cover learnings from our algae research and will feature an amalgamation of engineering and biology. In parallel, applications of synthetic biology in E.coli and Clostridium with cellulosic sugars and syngas as feed, has made it possible for us to produce many high value bio chemicals. This presentation will cover use of modern biology tools and learnings from our algae and bio-chemical research.

Keynote Forum

Majid Hosseini

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA

Keynote: Technical challenges of large-scale microalgae harvesting for feed, food, and biofuels production

Time : 09:30-10:00

Conference Series Biofuels-2017 International Conference Keynote Speaker Majid Hosseini photo
Biography:

Dr. Hosseini has earned both his PhD and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Akron, in Ohio, USA. He has also completed an MSE degree in Manufacturing Engineering at UTRGV in Texas, USA, and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. Dr. Hosseini has edited book and book chapters, co-invented patents application technologies, and authored multiple peer reviewed research articles. He has served as a key speaker at national and international conferences and meetings and has been actively engaged in technology development. He is a persistent reviewer of leading international journals. 

 

Abstract:

Presently, commercially produced microalgae are used in supplemental nutritional products for humans and animals. There is a great potential for microalgae to be used in food/feed supplements, biofuels production, electricity generation, carbon dioxide biofixation, etc. Throughout the world, many variations on cultivation methods, species of microalgae, harvesting means and the biomass processing technology have been implemented. Even though microalgae biomass has been rigorously studied in both the laboratory and in the field for years, its usefulness is impeded by the difficulty experienced in its large scale cultivation thereby making it commercially infeasible. Nevertheless, there are multiple issues that must be addressed before the widespread adoption of algal biomass production technology. Several species are already being used commercially in raceway ponds, but are still not produced in high enough quantities or in a cost effective manner that is required for fuels and feeds. While algae biomass demand continues to increase globally, producers require technological developments that drive cost reduction while retaining and elevating the quality of the product. Low cost, efficient and scalable harvesting and subsequent dewatering methods require technological advancement in order to drive cost reduction of downstream processing and ultimately biofuel production. The favorability of the carbon and energy balance is what determines the microalgae feedstock’s viability for the production of biofuel. In order to achieve large-scale production levels, not only must processing costs be drastically cut, but more importantly is the development of algae strains that are highly productive and can be cheaply harvested. The systems used for the identification, promotion and utilization of algal biomass are sought after by producers and processors alike so as to ensure profitability, supply security, eco-consciousness, sustainability, market competitiveness, and etc. This work detailed the challenges that microalgae biomass production and utilization face which span the breadth of the algal production chain. Constraints, both chemical and physical in nature, that obstruct mass production and application of large scale algal biomass is also addressed herein. Comparisons between various microalgae harvesting methods and their potential for scalability are discussed. Furthermore, a discussion on the technical, economic and environmental barriers that must be surmounted prior to the introduction of microalgae-based products into the global market is presented.

Keynote Forum

Ange Nzihou

Centre RAPSODEE, France

Keynote: Innovative catalysts for the conversion of greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4) from biowastes to energy and chemical

Time : 10:00-10:30

Conference Series Biofuels-2017 International Conference Keynote Speaker Ange Nzihou photo
Biography:

Professor Nzihou obtained his PhD degree in chemical engineering at the National Polytechnic Institute in Toulouse, France in 1994. His research interests focus on treatment processes and engineering new materials from waste and biomass. He has published about 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, and supervised 10 PhD students and 12 post-docs. Since 2001, he has received 20 significant grants from industry and governmental agencies. He is the initiator and the Chairman of the Waste Eng Conference Series dedicated to organizing conferences and seminars on Waste and Biomass Valorization

Abstract:

The increasing levels of CO2 and CH4 concentration in the atmosphere, especially due to fossil fuels combustion for energy production, agricultural activities and other industrial processes have led to severe climate changes. CO2 reforming of methane CH4+CO2←→ 2H2+2CO) has gained increasing attention due to the conversion of these greenhouse gases into synthetic gas (syngas), which can be used for energy production or synthesis of high-value chemicals. Also, this reaction could be used for the valorization of biogas, natural gas and CO2 waste streams. However, rapid catalyst deactivation is commonly observed in this reaction, mostly due to coke deposit on the catalyst active sites and to catalyst sintering. In the present work, the hydroxyapatite-supported nickel catalysts were synthesized and evaluated in this reaction. The catalysts presented high greenhouse gases conversion and high syngas selectivity during long periods of time (>300 h). Moreover, the comparison between these catalysts with the conventional ones highlighted the competitiveness of hydroxyapatite-supported nickel catalyst. The good performance of these catalysts was linked to their physicochemical properties, such as nickel particle size, metal-support interaction and supports basicity. In addition, the occurrence of carbon gasification reaction (C(S)+H2O←→ H2+CO) was crucial not only for lowering coke selectivity but also for increasing syngas production. Characterization of spent catalysts revealed that besides the amount of coke, the type of carbon had an influence on the catalysts deactivation. In situ regeneration under air flow was also performed in order to evaluate the reuse of the catalysts

Break:
Networking & Refreshment Break 10:30-10:40 @ Foyer

Keynote Forum

Wei-Hsin Chen

National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Keynote: Recent progress in torrefaction for upgrading solid biomass fuels

Time : 10:40-11:10

Conference Series Biofuels-2017 International Conference Keynote Speaker Wei-Hsin Chen photo
Biography:

Wei-Hsin Chen has received his PhD degree in 1993 at the Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan and is a Distinguished Professor at the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Cheng Kung University. He has visited the Princeton University, USA, the University of New South Wales, Australia, the University of Edinburg, UK and the University of British Columbia, Canada as a Visiting Professor. His research interests include bioenergy, hydrogen energy, clean energy, carbon capture and atmospheric science. He owns a number of academic awards and has published over 160 SCI papers with an h-index of 33. He is the Editorial Board Member of international journals Applied Energy, International Journal of Energy Research and Energies. He is also the author of several books concerning energy science and air pollution.

Abstract:

Development of renewable energy is considered as an effective countermeasure for natural resource sustainability and climate change mitigation. Currently, bioenergy accounts for the largest share in the development and utilization of renewable energy and has been extensively applied in heat and power generation as well as residential and transport sectors. Biomass can be transformed into gas or liquid fuels via a variety of methods such as gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, fermentation and transesterification. It can also be utilized as a solid fuel and burned directly for heat and power generation. However, raw biomass possesses a number of disadvantages such as hygroscopic and biodegradable nature, high moisture content, low calorific value, large volume or low bulk density and nonhomogeneity. These characteristics result in a low conversion efficiency as well as difficulty in the collection, grinding, storage and transportation of biomass. Torrefaction is a promising technology to upgrade biomass for solid fuel production. After undergoing torrefaction, the aforementioned properties of biomass are improved to a great extent and close to those of coal. Figure-1 provides a summary to illustrate the impact of torrefaction on the properties of biomass. Consequently, torrefied biomass can be used as an alternative to coal consumed in industry. This article addresses the important issues in basic research of torrefaction, especially in the impact of torrefaction on the property variation of biomass. The potential applications of torrefied biomass in industry such as combustion, gasification, ironmaking, pyrolysis and liquefaction will also be illustrated.