CNESS seminar on Biomass Valorization towards Future Biorefineries with Profs. Zhen Fang and Lujiang Xu (hybrid)

April 25, 2024 (Thursday), at 10.00-11:30 (Hervanta-Festia-FC231 or TEAMS)

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Tuni’s research platform on Climate Neutral Energy Systems and Society invites everyone to join its hybrid seminar on “Hydrothermal Conversion of Waste Materials” (Talk 1) & Production of Value-added Compounds from Biomass and Wastes via Catalytic Pyrolysis Process (Talk 2). In this seminar, guest researchers ProfS. Zhen Fang and Lujiang Xu from Nanjing Agricultural University, China, will focus on how to convert agricultural and forestry wastes into high value-added products through different thermal conversion techniques. After the presentation, there will be a Q&A and discussion session.

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Talk 1: This research will introduce how to use abundant and renewable lignocellulosic biomass (such as straw, grass, and trees) to produce high-quality biofuels and high value-added products based on the speaker’s research experience both domestically and internationally. Emphasis will be placed on how to utilize supercritical water techniques for hydrolysis, gasification, liquefaction, and synthesis of nanocatalysts. In addition, supercritical water technology that has been or is about to be industrialized is also introduced. It consists of eight parts: 1) Biomass resources and biorefineries. 2) Supercritical fluids and supercritical water. 3) Fast hydrolysis in supercritical water. 4) Supercritical water gasification. 5) Supercritical water liquefaction. 6) Supercritical water synthesis of nanomaterials. 7) Conclusion. 8) Industrial utilization.

Prof. Zhen Fang bio: Prof. Zhen Fang is the leader and founder of biomass group at Nanjing Agricultural University. He is specializing in thermal/biochemical conversion of biomass, nanocatalysts synthesis and their applications, pretreatment of biomass for biorefineries and supercritical fluid processes. He is Editor-in-Chief of Springer Book Series – Biofuels and Biorefineries, Elected Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE, 2021). Prof. Zhen Fang has more than 20-year international research experiences at top universities and institutes around the world. He is listed in the “Most Cited Chinese Researchers” every year from 2014 to 2023 (Elsevier-Scopus).

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Talk 2: With the global population on the rise and industrialization accelerating, managing and processing discarded biomass has emerged as one of the significant challenges facing the world today. Traditional methods of dealing with biomass waste often involve incineration, landfilling, and similar approaches, which pose issues such as energy wastage and increased carbon dioxide emissions, thus undermining environmental preservation and sustainable development efforts. Hence, the refining technologies for sustainable valorization of biomass waste have come to the fore as viable solutions. This presentation introduces how to use lignocellulosic biomass and organic wastes to produce N-containing compounds via catalytic pyrolysis process based on the speaker’s research progress. This lecture encompasses three main topics: 1) nitrogen-containing chemicals produced from biomass resources; 2) nitrogen-containing chemicals produced from waste plastics; 3) further utilization research on biochar, a byproduct of pyrolysis.

Prof. Lujiang Xu bio: Prof. Lujiang Xu is an associate professor at Nanjing Agricultural University. He is specializing in thermochemical (pyrolysis) conversion of biomass and solid organic waste to produce high value-added chemicals (pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical precursors) and high-quality liquid fuels. Prof. Xu is leading General and Youth Programs of National Natural Science Foundation of China. He has published over 30 papers and holds more than 10 national invention patents.