C-CJCBERI has successfully hosted the 2017 Annual Workshop on Monday, Aug 21st at UBC. Over 60 attendees from academia, governments, funding agencies and industries of Canada and China got together.
A group of professors from College of Engineering, Beijing Forestry University visited C-CJCBERI on August 10th. C-CJCBERI members Dr. Xiaotao Bi, Dr. Anthony Lau, Dr. Jim Lim, and Dr. Shahabaddine Sokhansanj hosted a seminar on biomass pelletization. Dr. Bi introduced UBC and C-CJCBERI and presented our recent research progress. He led the visitors to tour UBC Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering and UBC Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) afterward. Dr. Sokhansanj also guided a tour to see the research facilities of UBC Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group (BBRG). The visiting professors gave an informative presentation to introduce the research work and commercialization achievements of Beijing Forestry University on biomass pelletization.
The visiting professors are Prof. Guosheng Yu, Dr. Zhongjia Chen, Dr. Aiping Xiao, Dr. Ye Tian.
Congratulations to C-CJCBERI's members Dr. Jim Lim and Dr. James Olson who have been inducted as fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) in recognition of their "distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession."
Nominated and elected by their peers, 50 new fellows and two new international fellows were welcomed by the CAE on June 26, 2017 at a ceremony in Ottawa, in conjunction with the CAE's 2017 Annual General Meeting and Symposium. The CAE is an independent, self-governing and non-profit organization established in 1987 to serve Canada in matters of engineering concern.
The CAE citations read as follows:
Jim Lim
Dr. Jim Lim has made major contributions to the practice, teaching and advancement of chemical engineering. He has shown unique skills in devising new thermochemical processes for industry and in designing and operating pilot scale units to improve and verify these processes. He has been a key figure in training a generation of chemical engineering students in sound design, process simulation and control, and practical skills needed for successful process operations. He has also been an essential team member in a unique group at UBC showing leadership in multiphase reactors.
James Olson
Dr. James Olson is a visionary leader, pioneering researcher, and inspiring educator who has made transformative contributions to the forest products sector of engineering. As a direct result of Dr. Olson’s innovative research and patented inventions, the pulp and paper industry can produce premium pulp using half the energy, has access to more effective fibre separation and refining processes, and is able to measure key properties of fibres more accurately and efficiently. Dr. Olson’s honours include two NSERC Synergy Awards, two NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplements, an APEGBC Meritorious Achievement Award, the BC Lieutenant Governor’s Innovation Award, and nine best papers.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to our Director Dr. Xiaotao Bi for being awarded the Strategic Partnership Grant for Projects by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). These grants support early-stage collaborative research projects in four target areas: advanced manufacturing, environment and agriculture, information and communications technologies, and natural resources and energy. Each collaboration must be between an academic researcher and a supporting organization that will be involved in all stages of the project.
Dr. Bi proposes to develop a new catalytic pyrolysis reactor system to convert biomass into high-quality bio-oil (upgradable to diesel and jet fuels) and biochar (usable as a high-value carbon-based fertilizer and reduction agent for iron ore processing). In addition to stimulating the Canadian bioeconomy, this technology will help the country meet its greenhouse emissions reduction target. The collaborators are Professor Weihsin Chen at National Cheng Kung University, EnWave Corp and G4 Insights Inc in Canada, and China Steel Corp in Taiwan.
By encouraging universities, industry, and governmental organizations to work together in tackling Canada’s greatest challenges, NSERC aims to not only foster innovations that will improve Canada’s economy, society, and environment, but also offer valuable training opportunities for the next generation of scientists and engineers.
News on UBC website: https://apsc.ubc.ca/news/2017/03/nserc-awards-strategic-partnership-grants-five-ubc-engineering-profs
C-CJCBERI has organized a "Collaboration Strategies Workshop on Bioenergy and Bioeconomy" successfully in collaboration with Nexterra and FP Innovations on Feb 23rd. About 70 people from universities, institutions, public sectors, and industry in Canada and China attended the workshop. Dr. Xiaotao Tony Bi opened the workshop on behalf of the organizing committee, followed by welcome speeches by Dr. Marc Parlange, Dean of APSC and Mr. Weiwei Kong, Deputy Consul General of China. Other speakers include representatives from Global Affairs Canada, China Ministry of Science and Technology, Natural Resources Canada, International Energy Agency, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, NSERC, BC Ministry of Energy and Mines, UBC VP Research Office, C-CJCBERI, and the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS).
The goal of the workshop is to strengthen and expend the network on bioenergy and bioeconomy within Canada as well as between Canada and China. After the mutual visits of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Chinese PM Li Keqiang in 2016, clean energy technology became one of the major areas that the two countries aim to develop collaboratively. Both countries have rich bio-resources and recognize the values of bioenergy and bioeconomy for a cleaner and sustainable environment. We believe that it is the right time now for researchers in both countries to exchange ideas, form partnerships so that a solid collaborative work plan can be developed.
The presentations in the morning sessions covered various topics, including clean energy status in Canada, China, and BC; NCE and NSERC network programs overview; current collaborations between Canada and China as well as between Canada and India; and Asia-Pacific business and trade. In the afternoon, the attendees had focused on discussions on the opportunities and challenges of bioenergy R&D, market and policy, and supply and commercialization. The workshop was concluded with a summary of the discussions and a preliminary plan for the next steps.
The workshop was sponsored by NSERC and UBC VP Research, and Chemical and Biological Engineering Department provided logistics support. The Organizing Committee members are Dr. Xiaotao Tony Bi, Director, C-CJCBERI; Dan Green, Executive Director, Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund, BC Ministry of Energy and Mines; Dr. Xuantian Li, Principal Engineer and Group Leader, NORAM Engineering and Constructors Ltd.; Cliff Mui, VP Product Development, Nexterra Systems Corp.; Dr. Jack Saddler, Task Leader, IEA Bioenergy Task 39; Dr. Douglas Singbeil, Research Manager, Process Engineering, FPInnovations; Dr. Jamie Stephen, Managing Director, TorchLight Bioresources.
Here is the program of the workshop. To learn more about the workshop please contact info@ccjcberi.center.
On February 26th, a delegation led by Mr. Huaibin Zhao, Deputy Director-General of Shaanxi Science and Technology Department, visited C-CJCBERI. Dr. Xiaotao Bi introduced UBC and C-CJCBERI and presented the recent work on clean energy. He also led a guided tour to the labs in the UBC Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and UBC Clean Energy Centre (CERC). The delegation also introduced the situations and new policies of energy field in Shaanxi Province, China. Together they discussed on the common areas, experiences, and opportunities for China and Canada as well as Shaanxi Province and BC Province in clean energy field.
The other delegates are: Mr. Chongjun Bai, Director, Division of Science and Technology Industry Development, Shaanxi Science and Technology Department; Dr. Lifa Zhou, President, Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Energy Resources & Chemical Engineering; Dr. Lin Li, Dean, Xi'an Shiyou University, Graduate School.
Congratulations to our member Dr. Steven Rogak for winning the BCIC Ignite Award! He worked with Hydra Energy to develop the first dual-fuel hydrogen/diesel heavy-duty class 8 trucks in North America. This is a very competitive award and the team was awarded $300,000.
BCIC Ignite provides funding to accelerate commercialization of new technologies and innovations in the natural resources and applied sciences in British Columbia. The program provides awards of up to $300,000 to consortia that are conducting research projects that address a significant demonstrated problem faced by industry and will commercialize a proposed innovation within a 3-year timeframe.
Check BCIC website for more details.
On Feb 6th, Professor Zhenyu Liu and Professor Jianli Yang from College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology visited C-CJCBERI. Dr. Xiaotao Bi introduced the research at UBC and guided a lab tour at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, UBC Pulp and Paper Centre, and UBC Clean Energy Centre.
C-CJCBERI will host "Collaboration Strategies Workshop on Bioenergy and Bioeconomy" on Feburay 23rd 2017 at UBC. This workshop is to gather researchers, and industrial practitioners from clean energy especially bioenergy sector, as well as governments and service providers to share experiences, insights, and ideas on collaborations nationally and internationally. The expected outcome of the workshop is to form new connections and partnerships for a joint proposal on establishing a broad and strong network on clean energy and bioenergy research, development and commercialization in Canada and China.
The workshop is sponsored by NSERC and UBC. It is co-organized by C-CJCBERI, Nexterra Systems Corp., and FPInnovations. Organizing committee includes: Dr. Xiaotao Bi, Director, C-CJCBERI; Dan Green, Executive Director, Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund, BC Ministry of Energy and Mines; Dr. Xuantian Li, Principal Engineer and Group Leader, NORAM Engineering and Constructors Ltd.; Cliff Mui, VP Product Development, Nexterra Systems Corp.; Dr. Jack Saddler, Task Leader, IEA Bioenergy Task 39; Dr. Douglas Singbeil, Research Manager, Process Engineering, FPInnovations; Dr. Jamie Stephen, Managing Director, TorchLight Bioresources. There will be over 70 participants from universities and insitutions across Canada, local industries, governments and public sectors, and 3 international attendees from China. The program and speakers' intro will be released shortly.
Dr. Naoko Ellis visited three C-CJCBERI partners in December 2016. She met with Dr. Jianjun Dai at Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Dr. Changzhu Li and Dr. Hui Li at Hunan Academy of Sciences, and Dr. Fang He at Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She gave several presentations and talks, learnt about the research projects in those institutions, and explored collaboration opportunities. Potential collaboration areas include but not limited to biomass pre-treatment, biodiesel production, phytoremediation, biochar, and chemical looping combustion. C-CJCBERI will continue to support new initiatives and joint projects in the coming year.
Our partner Tsinghua University organized the 10th World Bioenergy Symposium (WBS 2016) on Dec 9th-11th in Dongguan, China. Dr. Dehua Liu is the chair of the symposium and Dr. Xuebing Zhao is the Secretary General, both are C-CJCBERI members. Co-organizers of this symposium include Instituto Alberto Luiz Coimbra de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa de Engenharia and City of Dongguan. And it is co-hosted by Dongguan Science and Technology Bureau, Tsinghua Innovation Center in Dongguan, China Brazil Center for Climate Change and Energy Technology Innovation and China-Latin America Joint Laboratory for Clean Energy and Climate Change.
WBS 2016 is one of the main technical and scientific international events focused on bioenergy and biotechnology, exploring aspects related to process technologies, raw materials, life cycle, clean vehicles, in addition to issues inherent to logistics and operation of these structures. Nine WBS have been held, two in Brazil and others in China, which were all very successful. This year, there were about 200 participants worldwide from companies, academy, bank, government, etc.
Dr. Xuebing Zhao chaired the session of "Biological and chemical conversion of lignocellulose to liquid biofuels". Dr. Xiaotao Bi was invited as a plenary speaker and he gave a speech on "Integration and Integrated Assessments of Regional Bioenergy Systems".
Symposium website: http://wbs2016.csp.escience.cn
The 10th Congress of Hunan Association for Science and Technology was held on December 6th. Our member Dr. Changzhu Li was awarded the title of "National Outstanding Scientific and Technological Worker" of 2016. The "National Outstanding Scientific and Technological Worker" award is issued by China Association for Science and Technology. It is to recognize outstanding personnels on research, developing, promoting, and commercializing science and technologies. This award is presented every two years. Total number of awardees is less than 500 each time and there are 494 awardees this year.