Scientific Program

Conference Series LLC Ltd invites all the participants across the globe to attend 13th International Congress on Biofuels and Bioeconomy Ottawa, USA.

Past Conferences Report

Day 3 :

  • Biomass | Biomass feed stocks for renewable energy generation | Biomass technologies
Location: Diefenbaker
Speaker

Chair

Roger Ruan

University of Minnesota, USA

Speaker
Biography:

Roger Ruan is the Director of Center for Biorefining and Professor of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering Department at University of Minnesota, and Fellow of ASABE. He has published over 400 papers in referred journals, books, and book chapters, and over 300 meeting papers and other reports, and holds many patents. He is also a top-cited author in the area of agricultural and biological sciences. He has served as guest editor and/or editorial board member of Bioresource Technology, etc. and an Editor-in-Chief and chairman of the board for International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

Abstract:

Various biomass, such as crop residues, food wastes, and municipal wastes are a potential feedstock for the production of renewable energy and fuels. Gasification and pyrolysis are efficient ways for conversion and utilization of these wastes. Fluidized bed processes that are the most common methods employed in fast pyrolysis and gasification have some significant issues include a complex and expensive system and process, high ash particles in products due to violent agitation, the low energy density of syngas due to the dilution by carrying gases, etc. In this presentation, we will present our improvement and new development of a fast microwave assisted downdraft catalytic pyrolysis and gasification processes and system using the novel microwave heating mechanism in which microwave susceptors and catalysts are used to significantly improve the heating characteristics, and the yield and quality of the products. Solid feedstocks are directly fed onto the hot microwave absorbents efficiently and efficiently maintained at desirable temperatures, resulting in higher temperature rise rate of the feedstock and therefore much more efficient absorption of the microwave energy also, and in turn fast gasification and pyrolysis. A separated packed-bed catalysis for the volatiles was also developed to improve the quality and yield of the pyrolytic and gasification products. Results and discussion on the effects of key process variables such as microwave susceptor type, particle size, and loading, microwave power input and control, feedstock loading method, raw material and catalyst temperatures, and the ratio of raw material and catalyst loading on product yields and quality, and energy consumption will be presented.

Speaker
Biography:

Rafal Strzalka has been working at the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences since 2002. As part of his work, he was involved in numerous national and European projects. Since 2013, he has been coordinating the research activities of the university in the field of energetic use of biomass as a project manager. The core competencies of him includes the optimization of energy production processes, the comprehensive analysis of biomass energy infrastructure and specialized, simulation-based efficiency enhancement measures for biomass-fired energy generation systems.

Abstract:

Bioenergy is nowadays by far the most important renewable energy source. In order to achieve high sustainability of bioenergy utilization under the increasing requirements of future-oriented energy supply, the performance of biomass plants has to be increased and used “smarter” as before. The highest efficiency of the utilization of biomass potentials is currently achieved in decentralized systems, as they can be characterized by relatively high conversion efficiencies, high flexibility, and reasonable investment costs. Due to their system characteristics, decentralized bioenergy plants are operated in a heat-driven mode, which leads to problems to achieve the designed conversion efficiency if an urban area with fluctuating heat demand serves as the heat sink. Resulting from this difficult operating conditions of bioenergy plants, the aim of the study is the development of innovative system applications that will enable optimal integration of bioenergy plants with the objective of optimal exploitation of their system potential in the context of future-oriented energy supply. In the case of decentralized bioenergy plants, the available options for the application of effective process control technology are limited due to the scaling effects. This usually leads to fluctuations of the process parameters and consequently to significant losses in system efficiency. To solve this problem, an optimization concept developed in the context of the presented study, consisting of new hardware components for combustion air management and fuel parameters control will be described in the paper. The presented approach includes also the implementation of model-based improvement of the system control, which will lead to a significant increase in the system stability and process efficiency. In order to achieve optimal integration of modern bioenergy plants within sustainable energy supply systems, the infrastructure requirements of the supply areas must also be taken into account. For this purpose, a 3D CityGML model of the building infrastructure was developed by using a GIS system. The simulation platform created in this way was extended by a heat network model. This platform can be used to predict the evolution of heat demand of the supplied urban area, which will make the operation of bioenergy plants more efficient. Furthermore, this platform can be applied to remedy infrastructure deficits, which can additionally increase supply efficiency. The comprehensive system application presented in the study, consisting of new hardware components, model-based system optimization, and an infrastructure integration platform, can be universally used to improve the operation of existing and new planned bioenergy plants. With respect of a large number of bioenergy plants as the most important producer of regenerative energy, the utilization potential of this effective system application can be estimated as very high.

Break: Lunch Break 13:00-14:00

Peter A Jackman

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC, USA

Title: Lessons from IPRs involving biomass-related patents
Speaker
Biography:

Peter Jackman is a Director in both the Biotechnology and Cleantech Industry Groups at the Washington, DC-based intellectual property law firm Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox. He helps to protect industrial biotechnologies including biomass, biofuel, biochemical, bioprocessing, and genetic engineering technologies, leveraging his BS in biology and MS in microbiology. He frequently lectures and publishes on patent issues surrounding green technologies. He is a contributing author of Patent Office Litigation, Second Edition, published in 2017, and further served on the BIO International Convention and the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology Program Committees. His practice includes counseling clients in global patent portfolio procurement and management strategies, technology transfer, invalidity, non-infringement, freedom-to-operate and patentability opinions, and due diligence investigations. He also assists clients in reexamination and Inter Partes Review proceedings at the USPTO.

Abstract:

Modern agriculture is being transformed by a confluence of advancing technologies. Agricultural biology, cell biology, genome and proteome research, gene sequencing, and gene editing technology like CRISPR is reshaping agriculture to face the challenges of an expanding global population, climate change, and a finite natural resource base. Patents provide the infrastructure to protect innovation and enable technology progress in the area of agriculture, particularly biomass. According to data obtained from the US Patent and Trademark Office, patenting in agricultural technologies has increased steadily over the past few decades. For many years, the only way to challenge the validity of a patent was through protracted and expensive district court litigation. Inter parts review was introduced by the America Invents Act on September 16, 2012, and designed as an efficient alternative to district court litigation to challenge patent validity. Since its debut, IPRs have enjoyed widespread adoption across many industries. As of March 2018, more than 7,500 petitions have been filed. Although the total number and frequency of IPR petitions filed related to the biomass industry are relatively low compared to other industries, the data are interesting. To date, about 30 IPRs have been filed attacking plant utility patents. Given the IPR filing rate in the biotech industry, it is reasonable to believe that more patents in this sector will be challenged in the future. Patent owners who believe that their patents may be challenged in an IPR proceeding should consider adjusting their patent prosecution strategies accordingly. This presentation will provide an analysis of recent IPR filings related to the plant industry and discusses action steps based on lessons learned from these proceedings to further strengthen patent portfolios in view of IPRs.

Speaker
Biography:

Cristian Panaite is a Managing Director at Forstpan, a company which provides consulting services for wood trade business, including acquisition strategies, budget planning, and legal advisory, timber harvesting management, and personal training. He’s professional experience is based on his work in main multinational companies present on Romanian wood market (Romanel Wood Industry, Kastamonu Romania SA, Kronospan) in different positions, from junior buyer to wood purchase manager. Holds a Bachelor Degree in Forestry and a Master Degree in Business Administration.

Abstract:

The bioeconomy has two main drivers: climate protection, especially by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG); and the foreseeable shift from fossil-based to renewable feedstocks. Biomass is widely accepted as the only sustainable alternative to fossil carbon sources and the starting point for developing production processes that can be characterized as having a low, or even zero carbon footprints. The bioeconomy development faces a number of hurdles. Although the processing and transformation of agricultural and silvicultural biomass to chemicals and fuels is established, the feedstock base of these industries is still dominated by fossil carbon sources. However, the transition into the bioeconomy is also an opportunity to build new cross-sectorial value chains. A bioeconomy involves three elements: biotechnological knowledge, renewable biomass, and integration across the application. The emerging “bioeconomy” reflects the dramatic increase in companies using renewable resources to develop new products and processes. The social benefits of the bioeconomy are compelling: expanded energy availability, better food security, mitigation of climate change, and more. Evaluated at 2 trillion Euro and employer for 21.5 mil people, the existing European bioeconomy market is a strong foundation for further expansion and development. Its potential growth is based on sustainable management and availability of primary biomass and various side streams. The present biomass supply in EU is estimated at 314 MtOE and the biomass potential is between 375 to 429 MtOE depending on the sustainability criteria applied.

Break: Panel Discussion 14:50-15:00
  • Advanced Biofuels | Production of Biofuels
Location: Diefenbaker
Speaker

Chair

Elsa Weiss-Hortala

IMT Mines Albi, France

Session Introduction

M R Riazi

Kuwait University, Kuwait

Title: Properties of biofuels versus petrofuels as transportation fuels
Speaker
Biography:

MR Riazi is currently professor of chemical engineering at Kuwait University. He was previously a faculty member of chemical and petroleum engineering at various universities in US, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. He has published extensively including 6 books on petroleum and biofuel properties and processing technology. He is the founding editor and editor in chief of IJOGCT (London, UK) and an editor of the Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering (Elsevier). He is an elected Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and is a licensed professional engineer in Ontario, Canada (P.Eng.).

Abstract:

Use of biofuels in the transport sector is on the rise considering limited available fossil energy resources, the environmental issues associated with the use of fossil fuels and attention to the security of supply. In this presentation, we discuss properties that are important for the quality of fuels and the environmental emissions for both petrofuels (such as diesel fuel) and biofuels (such as biodiesel). These properties include density, distillation temperature, viscosity, pour point and properties related to cold weather, vapor pressure, solubility, carbon residue, elemental composition, acid content, cetane index, the heating value or energy content and the C/H ratio. In addition, we discuss factors that affect the quality of biofuels, such as the composition of raw materials and processing methods as well as the blending of bio and petrofuels. Finally, a comparison is made on the environmental impacts and the emissions from an internal combustion engine when a biofuel or petrofuel is used especially on the CO, CO2, NOx and sulfur emissions.

Speaker
Biography:

Elsa Weiss-Hortala is Assistant Professor at IMT Mines Albi in the field of energy and environment issues. She has completed her PhD in 2006, after obtaining a Masters in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Materials Science. She is involved in research projects dealing with carbon materials, using wet and dry thermochemical processes. She is currently a member of the WasteEng Organising Committee (International conferences on Waste and Biomass Valorization) and is Vice-President of ETRA (European Tyre Recycling Association) for pyrolysis aspects. She published more than 25 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Abstract:

Kitchen waste (KW) are interesting resources of bio-oil production because of their high content of organic matter. Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) seems to be a more suitable process since these wastes have a high moisture content. KW result in more than 30 wt.% of crude bio-oil yield with high HHV (>35 MJ/kg) using hydrothermal liquefaction. Thus HTL is identified to be a promising technology for bio-oil production. Carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and inorganic minerals are the main components of KW and the main sources of the oil products during the HTL process. Due to the high variability and different conversion rate of these components in HTL, it is hard to predict or control the yield and quality of oil products obtained from different KW sources. In this research, the characteristic of bio-oil products obtained from HTL of real KW and optimization of the reaction parameters are studied and compared to simulated KW. 43~46wt.% of bio-oil were produced at 300~360°C, and the gas oil fraction of the bio-oil was over 50wt.%. Simulated KW (a mixture of starch, tryptone, and rapeseed oil) in binary and ternary mixtures was used to study the interactions. The interaction of carbohydrate and protein presents a significant effect, resulting in an increase of 11.1wt.% on bio-oil yield, and a decrease of 10.0wt.% on char yield, respectively. Finally, the interaction method seems to be useful to predict the bio-oil yield from the model compounds, with less than 1wt.% of absolute difference with experiments, while the char yield is slightly higher than the predicted value.

Break: Networking & Refreshment Break 15:50-16:10
Speaker
Biography:

Andrew Ledlie is the North American Marketing Manager for Biorefining at Solenis. He has 27 years of experience in a variety of roles and industries for Water and Process treatment at Solenis and is currently responsible for strategic planning and development and launch of new technologies into the ethanol market. He is a frequent speaker at ethanol conferences and author of numerous articles in Ethanol Producer Magazine and Biofuels International Journal. A graduate in Molecular Biology at McMaster Universtiy, he resides in Hamilton, Ontario.

Abstract:

Ethanol plants rely on cooling towers to regulate temperatures in various parts of the process in order to run efficiently and productively. This cooling is so critical to ethanol production that some plants use chillers during the summer months to provide additional cooling in order to maintain production levels. In 2017 Solenis introduced North American ethanol producers to the hidden threat of biofilm in these cooling water systems. The issue is that while operators have clean-in-place procedures to address the process side fouling of critical heat exchangers, the cooling tower water side of these heat exchangers often gets less if any attention. Additionally, water reuse demands limit treatment options in cooling systems. As a result, biofilms, a thin coating of bacteria including their secretions and any entrained solids in the water, can form on the cooling water side of these exchanges and impede heat transfer. Lastly, these films are highly corrosive to the underlying metallurgy, resulting in leaks and failures in mere years when the equipment should be expected to last for decades. While awareness continues to grow, this paper will build on the knowledge shared in 2017, and reinforce the importance of controlling biofilm by providing followup performance data on a novel treatment program called ClearPoint. Data from one ethanol producer which has been using this program for over a year now will be shared. Two technologies, new to the ethanol industry, one being a real-time biofilm monitoring device, and the other being an alternative microbiocide to chlorine, are at the heart of this program. We will share how this approach has helped this ethanol producer to reduce chiller usage by over 80% during the summer of 2017 (as part of a new larger cooling tower installation), in addition to a greater than tenfold reduction in mild steel and copper corrosion in their cooling system. This improvement has maximized the asset life of their system and saved significantly on energy while minimizing costs and downtime associated with repairing leaks. 

Speaker
Biography:

Wendy E Lamson is a patent agent and partner at the firm of Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall.  She has over 17 years of experience creating patent portfolios for Canadian companies, including a local Ottawa biofuel company. She is a published author on patent utility requirements and holds an LLM in Intellectual Property Law at Osgoode Hall Law School (2015) and a BSc in biochemistry from Simon Fraser University (2000). She blogs on various topics directed to helping inventors achieve success in patenting green technology at www.patentgreentech.com.

Abstract:

Lignocellulosic biofuel patenting has experienced rapid growth in the last 15 years. Despite some recent downward trends, cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel patenting have both increased roughly 7 times since 2003, and biodiesel patenting has increased by around 8 times. However, an increasingly crowded patent space poses challenges for start-ups and mid-size companies to secure patent rights in this emerging field. Added to this challenge is that US supreme court case law developments are not favorable to patentees. A small to medium size enterprise with limited resources, however, can build a winning patent portfolio in such an environment to attract investment by implementing a strategic patent strategy. A strategic patent strategy serves to carve out a niche that adds value to an organization rather than being a drain on resources. Such a strategy should be implemented at each stage of the patenting process, including invention mining, drafting and filing the patent application, and examination of patent applications. On-going culling of a patent portfolio to ensure alignment with business objectives is also necessary to extract maximum value. The protection of trade secrets, particularly in an era of increased reliance on digital information, should dove-tail with developing a strategic patent portfolio.

Speaker
Biography:

Takeshi Sako received his PhD from Tokyo Metropolitan University. He worked on chemical engineering at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology for 22 years. He became a professor at the Department of Materials Science and Technology at Shizuoka University in 2000. He was deans of Faculty of Engineering and Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology from 2013 to 2017. He has worked on the supercritical/subcritical fluid technology for more than 30 years. In particular, he has studied the production of many kinds of biofuels from waste/unused materials using hydrothermal treatment.

Abstract:

Waste biomass is promising raw materials in the 21st century because they are produced much and carbon neutral for use. We show several techniques to convert waste biomass to useful fuels and clean energy with hydrothermal treatment.

(1) Production of powder fuel: Mixture of waste biomass and plastics is one of the refractory wastes. The new technique was developed to convert waste mixture to clean fuel with the high heat of combustion. The waste mixture was treated in hot water at around 200oC and 2MPa. We obtained the powder fuel with 1-2mm in diameter and 25MJ/kg in heat of combustion.

(2) Production of hydrogen gas: Hydrogen gas was produced from waste biomass using superheated steam. Waste biomass was converted to a gaseous mixture of hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide and others. Furthermore superheated steam itself was decomposed to hydrogen and, as the result, the hydrogen yield increased much.

(3) Production of bio-ethanol: Effective bio-ethanol production was developed by using paper sludge as a raw material and the combined process of hot water hydrolysis and enzymatic saccharification. Combined process realized more than 80% of high glucose yield and no production of furfural compounds, which are inhibitors of ethanol fermentation.

(4) Production of thermal energy: 2-step superheated steam oxidation using catalyst was developed to incinerate livestock waste completely and safely to carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen gas. The toxic and bad-smelling ammonia was decomposed rapidly. The thermal energy was recovered using a high-pressure heat exchanger efficiently.

Satindar Kaur

Guru Nanak Dev University, India

Title: Bio-Fuels: Need of the hour
Speaker
Biography:

Satindar Kaur completed her PhD in Chemistry from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (India). Was later on appointed as Professor and Head Department of Sugar and Alcohol Technology. She has more than 80 publications in international journals. For one of the student’s PhD thesis has been published in LAMBERT Publications. Has one patent to her credit and a life member of International Sugar Organization (ISO) and ISSCT having presented papers in ISSCT international conferences. Was appointed as a referee in ICUMSA for plantation white sugar for GS-9 and S-6. Attended the ICUMSA meet as a referee at the University of Cambridge in 2012. Has been working in the field of biomass conversion with one PhD student presently working on Thermochemical and biochemical methods using hybrid methods with developed and new strains in the laboratory for quick and efficient biomass conversion to bioethanol and biodiesel.

Abstract:

The Earth is passing through a very difficult phase of global warming with the CO2 levels having shot up from 280ppm in 1960 to more than 400ppm now (Dangerous Levels Beyond 450ppm). In ice age it was 180ppm. The temperature risen by more than 1.4℉ (0.8℃) leading to problems related to Tsunami, floods, melting glaciers and erratic seasons. Anthropogenic emissions contribute to global warming by burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum diesel and above all deforestation in the name of development, for forests are great carbon sinks. We have reached a stage where the use of fossil fuels are totally stopped and renewable fuels such as   Bio-fuels such as Bio-Diesel and Bio–Ethanol which are” solar liquids” are promoted and are the need of the hour. They are going to play an extremely important role in addressing global warming concerns associated with petroleum fuels. But also in meeting India’s energy needs, which are expected to grow at 4.8% over the next couple of decades, and will  address energy security as we presently import 75% of the total crude costing 7lac-crore/year and also. Brazil has made a turnabout in the economy by using Ethanol as a substitute to gasoline while India has missed the race. Diesel is highly polluting and carcinogenic and its demand is five times petrol. So it’s very pertinent that it be replaced. Ethanol and biodiesel are gaining worldwide acceptance as biofuels, ethanol in spark-ignition engines and bio-diesel in compression-ignition engine vehicles which up to 15-20% blending need no change in engine. Other fuels are dimethyl ether (DME) or blends with diesel for buses trucks as clean fluids by Volvos in Japan, Europe, USA and Fischer-Tropsch liquids (FTL) made from coal used in South Africa as diesel. Nitin Gadkari, Transport Minister says  blending of Bioethanol will go up to  22.5% and of bio-diesel up to 15%. As ethanol produced from molasses is not sufficient to meet the blending even up to 10%. Thus, the second generation fuel from the lignocellulosic biomass like bagasse wood etc needs to be tapped. In our laboratory both Bio-Ethanol and Bio-Diesel are being synthesized. Bio-Ethanol has been produced from Corn Cob and Bio-Diesel by the effect of Oleaginous microorganisms including bacteria, mold, yeast, microalgae effect on Bagasse to produce lipids and their further transesterification to produce Bio-Diesel. For Ethanol the bioconversion was carried out using a hybrid approach for co-utilization of dilute acid hydrolysate (pentose rich stream) and hexose rich stream obtained by enzymatic saccharification employing commercial Cellic–Ctec2 as well as in-house cellulase preparations derived from Malbranchea cinnamomeaScytalidium thermophilium and a recombinantAspergillus strain. For Ethanol, Acid hydrolysis (1% H2SO4) of corncob at 1:15 solid-liquid ratio led to removal of 80.5% of hemicellulosic fraction. The solid glucan rich fraction (63.5% glucan, 8.3% pentosans and 27.9% lignin) was hydrolyzed at 10% substrate loading rate with different enzymes for 72 h at 50°C resulting  in release of 732 and 535 (mg/g substrate) total sugars by Cellic-CTec2 and M. cinnamomea derived enzymes, respectively. The fermentation of enzyme hydrolysate with co-culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia stipitis added in sequential manner resulted in 3.42 and 2.50% (v/v) ethanol in hydrolysate obtained from commercial Cellic-CTec2 and M. cinnamomea, respectively. Employing a hybrid approach, where dilute acid hydrolysate stream was added to solid residue along with enzyme Cellic-CTec2 during staggered simultaneous saccharification and fermentation at substrate loading rate of 15% resulted  in 252g ethanol/kg corncob. By this method glucose produced was immediately fermented and less inhibitors were produced making the process more efficient and quick. The studies have been monitored by SEM, TEM, XRD, and FTIR to corroborate the results. Bio-diesel is monoalkyl esters of vegetable oils such as canola (rapeseed), cotton seed, palm, peanut, soybean and sunflower oils. Rapeseed and sunflower oils are predominantly used in Europe while palm oil predominates in Tropical countries. Oleaginous microorganisms including bacteria, mold, yeast, microalgae are considered promising candidates as they are not affected by seasons, high lipid contents and can be produced from a full diversity of carbon sources to give a similarity of fatty composition to that of vegetable oils. They  can achieve high cell density on a variety of low cost materials such as industrial sugars, agricultural waste and raw glycerol generated as bio-diesel waste. Bio-Diesel has been produced from Oleaginous yeast Trichosporon sps. yeast strain which has been isolated from decayed wood. Its potential to produce lipids has been evaluated on glucose, glycerol and sugarcane bagasse   acid hydrolysate. The fermentation process was carried out  for 120h at 30℃. Lipids were extracted and subjected to transesterification using acidic Methanol (1% H2SO4). The mixture was heated at 60℃ for 12h at alcohol/oil ratio of 6:1 and top phase containing fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) analysis of lipids was carried out by GC-FID and NMR. It  revealed the presence of Oleic acid, Palmitic acid, Linoleic acid and Stearic acid. The Biodiesel properties (Iodine Number, Cetane Number, and cold filter plugging point) showed the sustainability of the yeast strain with potential for Biodiesel production. The cetane number of the lipids ranged from 53.39 to 59.59 indicating stability of Bio-diesel production. Sugarcane bagasse is one of the important lingo-cellulosic agricultural by-products which upon acid hydrolysis (1% H2SO4 with a solid-liquid ratio of 1:15 in an autoclave for 30 mins) results in the xylose-rich stream. This can be utilized for the biosynthesis of lipids. The possibility of using the biodiesel derived waste, glycerol and acid hydrolysate of agriculture waste for cultivation of yeast culture will simultaneously provide a method for the disposal of large volumes of algae biodiesel derived waste. India is a very diverse country with rich dense forests of the North-East. Attempts are being made for the production of Bio-Ethanol from Bamboo.

Break: Panel Discussion 17:50-18:00
  • Bioenergy | Biorefineries | Biogas
Location: Diefenbaker
Speaker

Chair

Deepika Awasthi

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA