Conference to present alternative biofuels to eliminate waste gas emissions

Monday 26 August 2019

International conference will discuss and present innovative processes to decarbonise the energy system to achieve a carbon-neutral industry, sustainable agriculture and sustainable cities.

NUI Galway will host the 8th International Conference on ‘Biotechniques for Air Pollution Control and Bioenergy’. This major international conference will focus on the topic of waste gas treatment and will involve more than 80 researchers from 20 countries around the world. It will take place at NUI Galway from the August 28-30.

New research from NUI Galway’s New Energy Technologies laboratory will present novel developments in hydrogen gas production using microbes from waste, as well as the production of valuable chemicals from carbon dioxide gas.

For example, biogas formed during manure decomposition on farms can be used as a fuel. To do so, the biogas must go through a purification stage, which is currently being investigated by the NUI Galway research team.

Emerging topics in waste gas research

Experts from around the world will meet and share their latest research findings on a range of established and emerging topics in waste gas research including: biogas purification and upgrading by using bacteria; converting industrial waste gases into useful biofuels; and analytical and modelling methods to monitor the functioning of waste gas treatment systems.

The Biotechniques 2019 conference covers a range of topics related to the application of environmental biotechnology to control air pollution, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions as well as produce and upgrade biofuels.

The conference will feature more than 50 presentations and aims to open new doors to academic and industrial partners in order to facilitate research cooperation between academia and industry, potentially allowing commercialisation of the innovative bioprocesses that will be presented at the conference.

Chair of the conference, Professor Piet Lens, a leading expert in environmental biotechnology and Established Professor of New Energy Technologies at NUI Galway’s College of Science and Engineering, will deliver the opening address.

Prof Lens, established professor of new energy technologies, NUI Galway, said: “This is a unique conference, organised biannually to discuss biological processes to treat waste gas emissions from industry and agriculture.

"At the conference, innovative processes to decarbonise the energy system will be discussed in order to achieve a carbon-neutral industry, sustainable agriculture and sustainable cities.

"Hands-on technologies will be presented at the conference that are required to meet the targets set in Ireland’s All-of-Government Climate Action Plan to Tackle Climate Breakdown, published earlier this year.”

Conference keynote speakers:

1.) Patrick Kenny, EPA air quality manager will discuss the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme in Ireland.
2.) Associate professor, Guangxue Wu, Tsinghua University, China will discuss biogas production from sulfate-containing wastewaters.
3.) Associate professor, Jingying Xi, Tsinghua University, China will discuss industrial waste gases that are currently being treated in China.
4.) Professor Christian Kennes, professor of chemical engineering, University of A Coruña, Spain will discuss how microorganisms can convert waste gases into biofuels and platform chemicals.
5.) Professor Henry Curran, director of the Combustion Chemistry Centre, NUI Galway, will discuss how biofuels will become part of our energy sources in the future.
6.) Professor Xinmin Zhan, professor of civil engineering at NUI Galway will discuss the role of digestate management when producing biogas from waste on farms.