Biomass and Biofuels
Convener: Associate Professor Peter Ashman
Topic
Biomass, in the form of plant material and agricultural wastes, is a form of stored solar energy which has been used since man’s earliest attempts to harness energy for cooking and heating. Indeed, biomass remained the primary source of energy for all societies until the widespread use of coal by developed societies occurred during the Industrial Revolution. Today there is a renewed focus on biomass as a source of renewable energy due to concerns over the long-term sustainability of fossil fuels usage. Biofuels is a generic term used to describe transport fuels sourced from biomass; common examples are biodiesel and bio-ethanol.
This seminar explored the feedstocks and processes that are commonly used to produce biofuels and to convert biomass into useful energy. It examined the opportunities for biomass and biofuels in a carbon-constrained world and the challenges that must be overcome. The seminar highlighted specific work at the University of Adelaide for the production of biofuels from marine microalgae and gave an industry perspective of this work.
Click here to listen to the entire seminar, or click on the individual links below.
Speaker | Topic | Audio-Visual |
|---|---|---|
| Biomass and biofuels - Overview of technologies (Video) | MP3 Download |
| Microalgae R&D Speaker: Dr David Lewis School of Chemical Engineering, UofA | MP3 Download |
| Microalgae - Industry developments | MP3 Download |
