C-CJCBERI Received Delegation led by President of South University of Science and Technology of China

On Nov 7th 2016, C-CJCBERI received a delegation led by the president of South University of Science and Technology of China (SUSTech), Dr. Shiyi Chen. The delegation visited UBC to meet with UBC president Dr. Santa J. Ono to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. The MOU is between the Faculty of Applied Science of UBC and the College of Engineering of SUSTech for funding support and research exchanges. SUSTech will select and fund outstanding PhD candidates in engineering field to pursue PhD degrees at UBC. These students will be jointly supervised by professors from UBC and SUSTech. There will be 10 students being supported as the first cohort of this funding next year.

Before the MOU signing ceremony with President Ono, the delegation visited C-CJCBERI and Dr. Xiaotao Bi held a meeting for the delegation to introduce SUSTech to some UBC professors. Dr. Bi also introduced C-CJCBERI and UBC Faculty of Applied Science to the delegation and led them to a campus tour.

In the afternoon, the delegation also with the Dean and Associate Deans of UBC Applied Science discussing about further collaboration opportunities between the two universities.

The members of the delegation include: Dr. Shiyi Chen, President; Dr. Tao Tang, Vice President Research; Dr. Yifan Chen, Head of the Department Electric and Electronic Engineering; Hua Gu, Global Engagement Specialist.

Here is a slides presentation introducing SUSTech.

Members invited to Seminar on Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Consulate-General of China in Vancouver

On October 31, our members Dr. Xiaotao Bi, Dr. Anthony Lau, and Dr. Jim Lim were invited by Vancouver Consul General Ms. Fei Liu to attend a dinner seminar on Science and Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Vancouver China Consulate-General.

During the seminar, Dr. Bi introduced C-CJCBERI and presented progresses and plans. After the G20 Summit in Hangzhou and Chinese PM Keqiang Li’s visit to Canada, China and Canada have expressed great interest in cooperation and collaboration. Clean energy is one of the major topics. Vancouver China Consulate-General has been very supportive to C-CJCBERI since its opening and Consul Liu also expressed encouragement and confidence of its strong growth.

Other attendees include professors, researchers, consultants, entrepreneurs, investors, and media from areas of energy, chemistry, medical technology, and internet technology. C-CJCBERI attracted great interest during the networking after dinner.

Hunan Province Delegation visited C-CJCBERI

On October 24th, a delegation led by Ms. Wan Zhu, Associate Director of Hunan Province Science and Technology Department visited C-CJCBERI at UBC. Other members of the delegation include Division Director of Hunan Province Science and Technology Department, professors from China Central South University and Hunan Agricultural University, and scientist from Hunan Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Research.

A seminar meeting and lab tours were held to welcome the delegation. Our members Dr. Jim Lim, Dr. Anthony Lau, and Dr. Hui Li from Hunan Academy of Forestry who is visiting UBC attended the seminar. Dr. Yonghua Li from UBC spin-off company Highbury Energy Inc. and Dr. Wenli Duo from FPInnovations were also invited.

The goal of the visiting was to learn about C-CJCBERI’s research on biomass and bioenergy and experiences on technology demonstration and commercialization. Our members gave presentations on their recent work on biomass pretreatment, gasification, torrefaction, pelletization, as well as biogas production from agriculture wastes. Dr. Yonghua Li and Dr. Wenli Duo also talked about the projects in their companies and industry differences between Canada and China. The delegation mentioned that Hunan Province has similar geological characteristics with BC and is also rich in forestry resources. It is facing opportunities and challenges on biomass utilization and bioenergy production. And they hope to form long-term connections with researchers and experts from C-CJCBERI and BC. At the end of the seminar, the group planned to collaboratively apply for funding by Hunan Province in 2017.

Dr. Jack Saddler and Dr. Vikramaditya Yadav visited Chinese partners

After attending the 5th International Conference on Biomass Energy in Beijing, our members Dr. Jack Saddler and Dr. Vikramaditya Yadav visited our Chinese members Dr. Xu Zhang at Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Dr. Yinhua Wan at Institute of Process Engineering of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Dr. Xuebing Zhao at Tsinghua University. This team all work on biological and biochemical conversion of biomass. They presented the recent research projects and had seminar discussion. The two UBC professors also networked with other researchers and students in the three institutions.

The 5th International Conference on Biomass Energy successfully held in Beijing

The 5th International Conference on Biomass Energy was successfully held on Oct 16th – 19th at Beijing National Convention Center. It was co-organized by BUCT and co-chaired by two of our members Dr. Zhenhong Yuan from Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dr. Jack Saddler from Faculty of Forestry, UBC. Dr. Tianwei Tan chaired the conference’s scientific committee and hosted the opening ceremony. Dr. Xiaotao Bi hosted the keynote speech session and the graduate student workshop. Other C-CJCBERI members that attended this conference include: Dr. Xu Zhang, Dr. Hanping Chen, Dr. Changzhu Li, Dr. Vikramaditya Yadav, and Dr. Bingxue Zhao.

The conference provided a forum with information on research development, demonstration, innovation and industrialization of biomass energy field. Scholars, officials, professionals, and investors shared ideas and knowledge together for a sustainable future. The topics covered in this conference include:

(1) Policies & strategies
(2) Biomass polygeneration
(3) Liquid biofuel
(4) Biomass briquettes & pellets
(5) Gaseous biofuel
(6) Biomass power
(7) Platform technology
(8) Microalgae
(9) Others

The conference's website was: http://icbe.csp.escience.cn

C-CJCBERI received Deputy Director of Science Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality

C-CJCBERI received the visit of Ms. Wei Huang, Deputy Director, Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality and Mr. Yi Ding, Shenzhen Science, Technology and Innovation Commission from Shenzhen, Guangzhou, China on Sep 18th.

Ms. Huang gave a presentation to introduce City of Shenzhen and the “Peacock Plan”. Shenzhen is the first Special Economic Zone of China and is known as “the most innovative city in China”. Its location links Hong Kong to mainland China and it’s an open and fast-growing city. Its development has been strongly focused on new science and technology and in the recent years, it has received talents, entrepreneurs, and companies from all over the world. “Peacock Plan” is a program by Shenzhen Municipal Government with large amount of funding to attract competent experts, talents, teams, and start-up companies from abroad.

Dr. Xiaotao Bi presented C-CJCBERI and the recent work in clean energy field at UBC which was of great interest to the guests. Shenzhen Government identifies Clean Energy field as an important sector to support. The city and the “Peacock Plan” are surely attractive to outstanding graduates from UBC to start a career in China as well as to established experts who want to leap to a new level. There are likely collaboration opportunities between Shenzhen and C-CJCBERI in the near future.

Here is the slides introducing City of Shenzhen and the “Peacock Plan”.

Dr. Xiaotao Bi published high impact paper on Progress in Materials Science

Dr. Xiaotao Bi has recently co-authored a critical review titled “Progress in Modified Carbon Support Materials for Pt and Pt-Alloy Cathode Catalysts in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells” in the journal of Progress in Materials Science. Progress in Materials Science publishes authoritative and critical reviews of recent advances in the science of materials and their exploitation in engineering and other applications. Its Impact Factor is 31. The other authors are Dr. Yan-Jie Wang and Dr. Baizeng Fang from Chemical and Biological Engineering Department of UBC and Prof. Hui Li and Prof. Haijiang Wang from South University of Science and Technology of China (SUSTech).

H2-fed polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are the most advanced fuel cell technology to date and continue to be of great interest as prospective energy sources in numerous applications, including for low/zero-emission electric vehicles, distributed power generators in homes, and small portable electronic devices. However, the commercialization of PEMFC technology has been greatly hindered by certain challenges, mainly the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode and the high cost of Pt-based cathode catalysts, the latter presently accounting for over 55% of the total PEMFC cost. To overcome the limited stability of state-of-the-art Pt/C, Pt and Pt-alloy catalysts supported on modified carbon materials have garnered significant interest in recent years. It is therefore timely to compile a review that focuses on Pt and Pt-alloy catalysts supported on modified carbon materials, examining their current R&D status, applications, challenges, and future prospects.

This review provides a systematic and comprehensive survey of current Pt and Pt-alloy PEMFC cathode catalysts in terms of materials selection and design, synthesis methods, and structural features, emphasizing how these various aspects relate to the catalysts’ physicochemical characterization and performance, and with the aim of shedding light on the future direction of PEMFC research.

Link to the paper: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079642516300299

Back in 2015, this research team had published a highly cited review paper titled “Carbon-Supported Pt-Based Alloy Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells: Particle Size, Shape, and Composition Manipulation and Their Impact to Activity” in Chemical Reviews. Chemical Reviews is one of the most highly regarded and highest-ranked journals covering the general topic of chemistry which provides comprehensive, authoritative, critical, and readable reviews of important recent research. Its Impact Factor is 37.

Link to the paper: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cr500519c

Dr. Shahab Sokhansanj received 2016 Founders’ Award in Bioenergy Excellence

Dr. Shahab Sokhansanj is the recipient of the prestigious Founders’ Award in Bioenergy Excellence. The Founder’s Award in Bioenergy Excellence is meant to be given to a leader for advancing the bioenergy industry in Canada and globally. The award was presented today at the 7th International Bioenergy Conference and Exhibition to acknowledge and celebrate his achievements as a champion of the bioenergy sector.

Director Xiaotao Bi co-chaired Fluidization XV Conference

Dr. Xiaotao Bi co-chaired Fluidization XV Conference in Montebello, Quebec, Canada during May 22-26, 2016. More than 200 participants attended the conference. Around 80 papers through rigorous peer review will be published as a special issue on Powder Technology.

The four-day conference consisted of 8 keynote speeches and 3 parallel sessions. Keynote speakers included our member Guangwen Xu (Institute of Process Engineering, CAS, China), along with Olivier Simonin (Institut de Mecanique des Fluides de Toulouse CNRS/INPT/UPS), Piero Salatino (Universita Degli Studi Di Napoli Federico II, Italy), Leslaw Mleczko (Bayer Technology Services GmbH, Germany), Thierry Gauthier (IFPEN, France),  Liang-Shih Fan (The Ohio State University, USA),  Ludvik Martinu (Polytechnique Montreal, Canada), and Guangxi Yue (CAE, Tsinghua University, China).

All participants presented their state of the art researches and exchanged thoughts and ideas. Topics included fluidization of irregular shape particles, micro-fluidized bed reactors, clean energy processes, fundamentals, coating technologies and fluidized nanoparticles, chemical looping combustion (CLC) and many more.

Reposted from UBC Fluidization Research Centre website

Canadian Members visited 9 Chinese Institutions during Workshop

Before and after the workshop, the 8 UBC members visited 9 Chinese universities and institutions, those are: Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences – Institute of Process Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Tsinghua University, China University of Agriculture, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hunan Academy of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Sciences – Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, and South China University of Technology – State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering. Our members and the hosts networked and learnt about each others’ research areas, recent projects, and latest progress, etc. They also discussed on upcoming collaborations, including joint research proposals, joint student supervision, student and scholar exchange, etc. The UBC members also toured many labs, demonstration projects, and local industries. Together with the successful completion of the annual workshop, our Centre is ready for more activities down the road.

Below is Dr. Naoko Ellis, Dr. Anthony Lau, Dr. Jim Lim, Dr. Kevin Smith, and Dr. Paul Watkinson visiting Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Below is Dr. Xiaotao Bi and Dr. Heather Trajano visiting Beijing Forestry University

Below is Dr. Xiaotao Bi, Dr. Naoko Ellis, Dr. Mark Johnson, Dr. Anthony Lau, Dr. Jim Lim, Dr. Kevin Smith, Dr. Heather Trajano, and Dr. Paul Watkinson visiting Tsinghua University

Below is Dr. Xiaotao Bi, Dr. Anthony Lau, and Dr. Jim Lim visiting China Agriculture University

Below is Dr. Naoko Ellis visiting Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Optics Valley Bluefire New Energy Co.

Below is Dr. Mark Johnson and Dr. Anthony Lau visiting Hunan Academy of Forestry, National Camellia Oil R&D Center, and Sanmu Energy Ltd.

Below is Dr. Naoko Ellis, Dr. Kevin Smith, and Dr. Heather Trajano visiting Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences

First Annual Workshop Successfully Held

See more photos of the workshop...

The first annual workshop of C-CJCBERI has been successfully held on May 9th 2016 at BUCT. There were over 40 attendees including current members, other professors and researchers from UBC, BUCT, Chinese Agriculture University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences – Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences – Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Hunan Academy of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, and Zhejiang University. Guests mainly included Mr. Dehua Jiang, Director, Division of Americas and Oceania, Department of International Cooperation, China Ministry of Science and Technology; Ms. Alice Niu, Director, International Trade and Investment Office, Representing the Government of British Columbia in North China & East China; and Mr. Michael Weedon, Executive Director, BC Bioenergy Network. Here is the full program of the workshop.

On the morning of May 9th, Director Tan welcomed the attendees and guests and delivered a speech on the trend of bioenergy development in China and the promising future of C-CJCBERI. Director Bi talked about the progress of C-CJCBERI in the past months and the overall plan for the next steps. Mr. Dehua Jiang gave a talk on the strategic importance of bioenergy for China as well as other countries. He mentioned that C-CJCBERI will be included into the Canada-China Joint Science and Technology Action Plan 2016-2018. Mr. Weedon introduced BC Bioenergy Network and expressed the interest in collaboration through C-CJCBERI. Dr. Donald Smith, Scientific Director and CEO of BioFuelNet Canada, gave a remote talk to introduce BioFuelNet Canada including its background, research areas, and current projects.

The attendees conducted group discussions on detailed development plan for C-CJCBERI. Topics included: 1) Development goal and vision for the Centre; 2) Potential research topics and projects for collaboration; 3) Interest, suggestion, and collaboration model for joint funding application; 4) Interest, collaboration model, and timeline for student exchange and co-supervision. The groups then joint together to exchange the outcomes and finalized an Action Plan for the next year.

In the afternoon, the Canadian professors delivered presentations on their research interests and progress. Audience included over 80 undergraduate and graduate students from BUCT in addition to the workshop attendees. This session was followed by a guided lab tour in BUCT that covered several research groups on bioenergy related fields. On the morning of May 10th, seven professors and graduate students from BUCT presented their research to the UBC members. Part of the speakers and UBC professors had a seminar afterwards to learn more about each other’s work and discover collaboration opportunities.

The Canadian professors visited several universities and institutions in the following days in groups or individually. Those included Chinese Academy of Sciences – Institute of Process Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Tsinghua University, China Agriculture University, Chinese Academy of Sciences – Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hunan Academy of Forestry, and State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering - South China University of Technology. These visiting and meetings engaged over 50 Chinese professors and researchers in total. Meaningful connections have been established and future collaborations will be facilitated soon.

Successful completion of the first annual workshop is a solid step that leads towards the next stages of the development of C-CJCBERI.

Director Xiaotao Bi attended the 6th Canada-China Joint Committee meeting in Ottawa

Our Director Dr. Xiaotao Bi was invited by the Science, Technology and Innovation Division of Global Affairs Canada to attend the 6th meeting of the Canada-China Joint Committee (CCJC) on Science Technology and Innovation Cooperation held in Ottawa on February 24th and 25th.

Since the Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the Government of Canada and the Government of the People's Republic of China signed in January 2007, Canada and China have been regularly holding meetings on science and technology. There are almost 40 government sectors and over 130 representatives from both countries attending the meeting this year which is the highest numbers ever since. During the meeting, Canada and China signed a Joint Declaration on Clean Technology Cooperation (between Natural Resources Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology), a Letter of Intent to re-launch the Canadian International Innovation Program (between the National Research Council-Industrial Research Assistance Program and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology), as well as a Statement for the Canada-China Joint Science and Technology Action Plan 2016-2018.

Dr. Bi presented C-CJCBERI in the Clean Technology session of the meeting. He introduced the background of our Centre, updated with our progresses, and presented our goals and future plans. He also had a meeting with Mr. Jianing Cai, Counselor of Department of International Coorperation, China Ministry of Science and Technology. It is commonly acknowledged and mutually agreed that bioenergy as a renewable energy has high potential to replace fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Both countries will attach great importance to the development and utilization of bioenergy.

The mission of C-CJCBERI is well in line with the objectives declared in the Joint Declaration on Clean Technology Cooperation. Following the signing of the Statement for the Canada-China Joint Science and Technology Action Plan 2016-2018, next step is to formalize the various initiatives to be included in the 2016-2018 Action Plan. C-CJCBERI will stay connected and further seek supports and involvement with the Action Plan.