Supported by:
School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong
HKWMA, HKIQEP and CIWEM (Hong Kong Branch)
This seminar contains two topics as shown below:-
1. Integrated Biorefinery from Waste and Biomass
Valorization
2. Tracking the Fate
and Transport of the Invisible Bacteria in Indoor Environment
Programme Highlights
The Green Innovation Webinar Series aims to enhance
the collaboration between HKIE and universities through exchanging new environmental
technologies and novel research projects ideas via the interactive online platform.
This is the second series consisting of 2 talks to be delivered by the professors
from School of Energy and Environment of City University of Hong Kong.
For the first talk, there is a growing demand to
establish biotechnology-based processes for chemicals, materials and fuels
production which can decrease our dependency on dwindling oil reserves and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These
novel bioprocesses are incorporated into biorefineries, which are integral
units converting different renewable-derived feedstocks into a range of useful
products as diverse as those from petroleum using environmentally friendly
technologies. A number of agricultural-based
biorefinery processes have been developed and realised at commercial scale
since the past decade. At the same time,
there are growing concerns over organic waste generation and insufficient
resource supply due to the ever-increasing global population and the
cradle-to-grave system of material flows in the linear economy. Therefore, the
research in our team aims at valorisation of organic waste materials through
bioconversion processes to recover their inherent nutrients for transformation
into value-added products. Waste-based
biorefinery not only provides a mean for waste treatment, but also promotes the
development of a circular economy by valorisation of wastes into value-added
products. In this talk, we aim to
provide an overview of recent efforts from our group in leading the future of
global food scientists and engineers.
The first part of the talk will cover several projects which serve as
examples to demonstrate the recent development of integrated biorefinery
strategies for valorisation of food and textile wastes. Due to the different characteristics of the
waste materials, the bio-processes were specifically designed and demonstrated
in both laboratory and pilot-scales, accompanied with techno-economic
assessment for evaluation of technical and economic feasibility. These independent showcases provide a novel
approach to waste valorisation to replace the current concept of waste
treatment and facilitate the transformation from a linear to circular economy
for global industries and society.
For the second talk, the global COVID-19 pandemic has
put the spotlight on the microbial life (i.e., bacteria, fungi, viruses,
pollen) that is in indoor air. A healthy indoor environment has always been
crucial even before COVID-19 when individuals spend ~90% of time indoors. We
are constantly exposed to diverse microbial life in the indoor environment,
making it important for us to understand which microbes are surrounding us.
Although the microbial life is tiny and invisible, there are now advanced tools
we can apply to detect and quantify them. We can track the fate, transport and
source of microbial life in indoor spaces and more importantly, we can identify
who they are. We can differentiate potential pathogens from those that are not
and we can tell which microorganisms are potentially dead and which are active.
This seminar will present findings from field studies to illustrate that we can
understand the microbial life in the indoor environment so that it is possible
to manipulate the indoor environmental conditions in a knowledge-driven manner
to protect the well-being of occupants.
Speakers
The first talk will be presented by Dr Jason Lam, Assistant
Professor, School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong. With
interests in combatting climate change and environmental pollution, his research
aims to mitigate global dependence on fossil resources by promoting the
production of sustainable energy and chemicals. As a Postdoctoral Fellow at
Yale University, he developed a protocol to convert crude glycerol, a biodiesel
refinery waste product, into lactic acid, a building block for biodegradable
plastics. For his doctoral work at Michigan State University, he examined
electrochemical strategies to convert biomass into liquid fuels. Outside of lab
work, he is an educator and an environment enthusiast. He has mentored numerous
undergraduate researchers at MSU and Yale, as well as high school students in
the MSU High School Honours Science Program (HSHSP). He has also been invited
to design and teach an online certificate program on the practice of green
chemistry to a diverse body of professional students in the University of
Washington’s Continuing Education Programs. His research focuses on turning
industrial waste and non-edible biomass into useful liquid fuel and materials
through chemical and electrochemical catalysis. He is also interested in
exploring creative means to replace harmful chemicals with benign alternatives,
and in promoting the use of recyclable or biodegradable materials that may be
returned to nature with minimal or no post-treatment at the end of their useful
lives.
The second talk will be presented by Dr Patrick Lee,
Associate Professor and the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, School of
Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong. He received his BS degree
in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University in Canada in 2001, and his MS
and PhD degrees in Environmental Engineering from University of California,
Berkeley in 2002 and 2007, respectively. From 2008 to 2010, he carried out
post-doctoral research, also at University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Lee is
a member of HKIE. Dr. Lee is the recipient of awards such as the World Cultural
Council Special Recognition Award and Bioenergy Society of Singapore
Achievement Award. His research group applies advanced biotechnology to study
different energy and environmental problems.
Language
English
Registration & Enquiries
The seminar is free of charge with maximum of
participants of 100. For registration, please complete the online Google Form.
Successful applicants will be notified before the event. For enquiries,
please contact Mr. Benjamin Lam at bencamay1119@gmail.com . Attendance certificate will be
awarded after seminar.