Day 2 :
Keynote Forum
Weilan Shao
Jiangsu University School of the Enviroment, China
Keynote: How does Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus regulate its ethanol fermentation pathway?
Time : 09:30-10:00
Biography:
Weilan Shao obtained PhD dgree in 1993 from the University of Georgia and had postdoctoral studies in the University of Wisconsin. She has been a professor in China since 2000. She has published more than 100 papers and has been serving as an editorial board member of Chines Journal of Biotechnology.
Abstract:
Thermoanaerobacter species can efficiently use lignocellulose derived substrates to grow at temperatures above 70°C. T. ethanolicus produces ethanol as main fermentation product. The final steps of the ethanol fermentation pathway are redox reactions from acetyl-CoA to ethanol via an acetaldehyde intermediate. AdhA, AdhB and AdhE encoded by genes adhA, adhB and adhE are the key aldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenases to catalyze these reactions. rnAafter identifying adhE in T.ethanolicus, we find that the ethanol titer of fermentation is controlled by both transcriptional regulation and the properties of AdhA, AdhB and AdhE. The transcription of dehydrogenase genes is regulated by redox sensing protein, which binds to oprators of different affinities so that adhA, adhB and adhE are expressed at directed time. Real time PCR results show that cells transcribe adhB in the absence of ethanol while the transcription of adhA and adhE needs be induced by a low concentration of ethanol. Further increased ethanol concentrations inhibit the transcription of all these genes. Under imitating physiological conditions, the enzyme AdhE and AdhB play crucial roles of aldehyde and alcohol dehydrogenases, respectively, in ethanol formation. However, the propertied and physiological roles of AdhA were not determined until the enzyme is successfully expressed and purified recently. The main physiological function of AdhA is to control ethanol titer by sensing and consuming ethanol in growing cells. After T. ethanolicus JW200 was transformed by adhA or/and adhE expression plasmids, the homologous expression of adhE enhenced the ethanol production, while that of adhA reduced the ethanol fermentation levels.rnThese results supports a regulation theory: The limitation of ethanol concentration during fermentation is caused by a systematic regulation through transcriptions and activities of the key enzymes in the ethanol-formation pathway.
Keynote Forum
Animesh Dutta
University of Guelph, Canada
Keynote: Hybrid thermochemical and biochemical conversion of biomass for renewable fuels and products
Time : 10:00-10:30
Biography:
Animesh Dutta is an Associate Professor and Director of Bio-renewable Innovation Lab, and Associate Director, Graduate studies with the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph. Dr Dutta is specialized in advanced energy systems and thermo-fluid science with hands-on experience in reactor design and pilot plant operation, design and performance of various tests in laboratory scale and pilot scale units, thermal design and process development. In his career, he has published over 70 peer-reviewed journal papers, 2 book chapters, and has roughly 85 conference publications and reports.
Abstract:
Food security, climate change, and energy sustainability are three major challenges in the 21st century. Among different renewable energy sources, bioenergy is a renewable primary energy source that touches all three major issues due to its competition with food on land use, low net CO2 emissions, and potentially sustainable if the economical, environmental and societal impacts are properly managed. The research at Bio-reneable innovation lab (BRIL) at Guelph focuses on research and development of a novel approach for the production of an array of renewable products such as energy, fuels, and products from Canada’s particular range of low grade biomass sources. These sources range from woody biomass to agricultural wastes, municipal green bin collections, and animal manures. This novel approach integrates thermochemical and biochemical conversion processes through a series of innovative technologies (i.e. hydrothermal pretreatment, supercritical gasification or anaerobic digestion with dry reforming, gas-to-liquid fuel through fermentation). The innovative and synergistic integration of design with processing through the above projects are expected to result in renewable fuels and value-added products. The resulting biocarbon can substitute fossil resources on a cost-performance basis with the added benefit of eco-friendliness. This could mean a tremendous reduction in greenhouse gas emission through the use of bioproduct, reducing our dependency on petroleum.The use of hydrothermal, chemical looping and supercritical gasifications, anaerobic digestion, dry reforming of biogas to produce syngas, and syngas fermentation techniques in the development and application of biofuels and products would lead to reduced dependency on petroleum and a sustainable economy.
Keynote Forum
Juan Matos Lale
University of Concepcion, Chile
Keynote: PHOTO-LMEn: Biochar-based materials for the sustainable photoproduction of liquid and gaseous molecules to energy
Time : 10:30-11:00
Biography:
Juan Matos Lale completed his PhD in Physics and Chemistry of Surface at the Central School of Lyon (France) in 1999. He worked upon the influence of carbon materials in different heterogeneous photocatalytic reactions with potential applications in solar nanotechnology. He focuses his research in the synthesis, characterization and applications of nanomaterials in catalysis, photocatalysis, environmental, industrial and green chemistry and alternative energies processes. He has been Invited Professor at Clark University (USA) in 2004, Claude Bernard University (France) in 2005, Palermo University (Italy) in 2007, Szceczin University (Poland) in 2008, Max Plank Institute for Colloids and Interfaces (Germany) in 2010, Politechnique University of Valencia (Spain) in 2010-2011, Adam Mickiewizs University (Poland) in 2011, and National Carbon Institute at Oviedo, Spain (2012). He is now Full Professor and Researcher of the Biomaterials Department in the Technological Development Unit (UDT) of University of Concepcion. He currently has about 70 papers published in high impact journals, about 1500 citations and h-factor 18.
Abstract:
rnBiochar-based materials applications in catalytic and photocatalytic reactions related with the photoproduction of liquid and gaseous molecules will be presented. Sawdust of a soft wood was used to prepare biochars for H2 photoproduction on Au-TiO2/biochars under visible irradiation. A remarkable increase in the photoactivity of the composite up to a factor about 3 times higher than the commercial catalyst free of biochars was found and ascribed to the surface pH of biochars. Biomass-derived molecules such as furfural, chitosane, and saccharose were used to prepare hybrid C-TiO2 materials by solvothermal synthesis. Hybrid TiO2-C supports led to an important enhancement in the catalytic activity of Pd-based catalysts in the electrooxidation of formic acid with a maxima density power up to 3.3 times higher than the same catalyst on a commercial carbon. Pd-based catalysts supported on hybrid Biochar-TiO2 supports can be designed to control the selectivity of phenol hydrogenation to cyclohexanone or cyclohexanol (up to 100% yield) by controlling the chemical nature of the biochar supports. Up to 10 times higher photoactivity that the standard semiconductor was found in the photodegradation of methylene blue under visible-irradiated Biochar-based/TiO2 materials. An integrated approach will be presented to remark the potential of biochar-based sustainable catalysis and photocatalysis considering energy production and environmental considerations. It can be concluded that biochars-based materials show new perspectives for the sustainable catalysis and photocatalysis related with clean energy production, green and selective catalytic processes, and for the environmental remediation of polluted water by solar technology.rn