Scientific Program

Conference Series Ltd invites all the participants across the globe to attend 2nd World Bioenergy Congress and Expo Rome, Italy.

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Scientific Program Day 1
Scientific Program Day 2

Day 1 :

Keynote Forum

Lew P. Christopher

Lakehead University, Canada

Keynote: Consolidated bioprocessing of lignocellulosic materials for cost-competitive bioenergy production

Time : 09:30-10:00

Conference Series Bioenergy 2016 International Conference Keynote Speaker Lew P. Christopher photo
Biography:

Lew Christopher holds a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. degree in Biotechnology. He has more than 25 years of industrial and academic experience in the field of industrial biotechnology and bioprocessing of lignocellulosic biomass. He has worked as industrial research scientist and held faculty positions in departments of biotechnology, chemical and biological engineering, and environmental engineering in South Africa and USA. Currently he serves as Director of the Biorefining Research Institute leading an interdisciplinary team of faculty and researchers from several science and engineering departments at Lakehead University in Canada. His research mission is to add value to the global Bioeconomy by applying an integrated biorefinery approach to the development of renewable bioenergy technologies. Dr. Christopher is a member of the editorial board of several international biotechnology journals, advisory boards, and professional societies. He has made over 400 scientific contributions to the field of Biomass Biorefining including 8 patents, 4 books, and over 50 invited lectures delivered in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America.

Abstract:

Hydrogen (H2) is considered the “energy of the future” due to its high energy content (143 MJ/Kg) which is 5.3-fold and 3.3-fold higher than that of ethanol and gasoline, respectively, and non-polluting nature, with water as the only product. An environmentally-friendly alternative to the current H2 commercial production via steam reforming of methane is presented through microbial fermentation of simple sugars. However, a production processes based on glucose is not considered cost-competitive as the market price of glucose ($440-600/MT) is approximately 10-fold higher than the cost of lignocellulosics ($39-60/MT). Furthermore, the current cost of lignocellulose conversion to bioenergy (US $15-$25/GJ) exceeds the cost of fossil fuels (US $3.31-$17.37/GJ). A feasible, large-scale production of bio-H2 would require the development of advanced production processes such as Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP). CBP has been proposed as the ultimate industrial configuration for cost-efficient hydrolysis and fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass. It was demonstrated that the extreme thermophile Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus was able to ferment switchgrass to H2 in one step without any physicochemical or biological pretreatment, whereas H2 production from glucose reached the theoretical maximum for dark fermentation of 4 mol H2/mol glucose. As pretreatment is the single most cost-intensive processing step in biomass bioconversion (25% of total costs on average), combining four processing steps (biomass pretreatment, enzyme production, biomass hydrolysis, biomass fermentation) into a single biorefinery operation makes C. saccharolyticus a promising CBP candidate for sustainable production of H2. The advantages of CBP, thermophiles and low-cost lignocellulosic feedstock for bioenergy production will be reviewed and discussed.

Keynote Forum

Jianzhong Sun

Jiangsu University, China

Keynote: Harnessing the biomass recalcitrance for fuels and chemicals: current state of the arts and our strategies in China

Time : 10:00-10:30

Conference Series Bioenergy 2016 International Conference Keynote Speaker Jianzhong Sun photo
Biography:

Jianzhong Sun has completed his PhD from Louisiana State University, USA and 2 year further postdoctoral career at same university. He was then to be hired as an assistan professor for 5 years at Mississippi State University, USA, and later, since 2009 he has served as an outstanding professor at Jiangsu University, China up to present time. Also, he is a director and founder of Biofuels Institute, Jiangsu University, a professional research organization that has hired more than 20 faculty and professionals with some graduate students. He has published more than 90 peer-reviewed papers in reputed SCI journals, 7 professional books (both in English and in Chinese) and has also served as a guest editor, editorial board member, as well as a refree for more than 20 international SCI journals. He is salso curently served as a vice president of China Energy Association.

Abstract:

In line with the requirements for sustainable economics and clean environments, biofuels from cellulosic biomass have recently received tremendous attention both in industry and academic communities worldwide. However, despite the surging popularity of biofuels as transportation alternatives, they in current have barely put a dent in our use of oil. It is clear that breakthrough technologies are still needed to overcome barriers, particularly for deeper understanding of biomass recalcitrance, developing cost-effective processes for converting biomass to fuels and chemicals. At present, it has become a world leading-edge research field to evaluate and mimic a variety of natural lignocellulosic systems, such as cellulose-eating animals, wood-feeding termites/insects, or other biomass utilization systems, to achieve efficient conversion and utilization of lignocellulosic biomass for fuels and chemicals. This review addresses various lignocellulolytic systems, their potential values, challenges, and opportunities that exist for scientists and industries to advance the biofuel technology, where the following topics will be further addressed: 1) Scientific and industrial potentials of the natural biomass utilization systems; 2) Novel biocatalysts explored from natural biomass utilization systems and their engineering potential for industrial uses; 3) Novel microbial symbionts discovered from natural biomass utilization systems by “omics” technologies; 4) Bioreactor innovations mimicked and advanced from the efficient biomass utilization systems by nature-inspired technology. With this overview, I hope that you can sense the excitement of the scientific endeavors both from China and the rest of world to crack the hard nut in developing lignocellulosic biofuels.

Keynote Forum

Michael Kottner

German Biogas and Bioenergy Society, Germany

Keynote: Germany's future biogas market – Back to the roots?

Time : 10:30-11:00

Conference Series Bioenergy 2016 International Conference Keynote Speaker Michael Kottner photo
Biography:

Michael Köttner is a Consultant, Senior Expert, as well as Managing Director of the International Biogas and Bioenergy Center of Competence (IBBK Fachgruppe Biogas GmbH) since 2000. He is Board Member of the German Biogas and Bioenergy Society, GERBIO/FnBB e.V.. With a Master’s degree as an Agricultural Biologist and as a trained farmer, he is professionally involved in Biogas and Bioenergy Technology for more than 25 years.

Abstract:

The presentation highlights the situation of Germany’s biogas sector looking at supporting energy policies, climate protecting technologies and market oriented economy of biogas plant operation. Starting from the current situation, it summarizes the development of the sector since the German Power Feed in Law and the Renewable Energy Law (EEG) entered in force in 1991 and 2000, and outlines several technologies that provide increased biogas yields and thus financial benefits for biogas plant operators. The German biogas industry has made remarkable progress in the recent years, now providing 5% of the national Electricity demand or 3 Mio. households. The EEG obligates grid system operators to give priority to plants generating electricity from renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, biomass and geothermal energy) in connecting them to their grid as well as in purchasing the electricity generated. Although remarkable progress has been made, the market potential is still not satisfied. Key findings are: (1) Nowadays, in total, more than 10500 biogas power plants are operating achieving an installed power capacity of about 5000 MW, (2) Energy crops are widely accepted as feedstock due to the special situation of Germany’s agriculture which is strongly integrated in the European agriculture market. Therefore, the production of food crops is regulated by market forces and policy rules. But the food versus fuel discussion as well as negative public perception of energy crop production and digestion is one of the many obstacles, which led to a severe reduction of feed in tariffs for new energy crop installations in 2014. (3) Co-fermentation and Biowaste Fermentation as technology option provide plant operators higher gas yields and economic benefits from waste treatment fees are now high on the political agenda. (4) The German government is aware of the economic and ecological potential and facilitates investment in on-farm micro scale digestion for the digestion of manure, in order to avoid greenhouse gas emissions from manure storage and handling. In the paper, case studies of trend setting projects and technologies will also be discussed.

Break: Group Photo & Coffee Break @ Foyer 11:00-11:20