Conference Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Recent Advances in Bioenergy Research

This book discusses latest advances in the area of bioenergy, including algal biomass, biodiesel, bioethanol, biomethanation, pyrolysis, biomass gasification, biomass cook stoves and integrated processes. The volume comprises select proceedings of ICRABR-2016. The contents include cutting-edge research vital to R&D organizations, academics and the industry to promote and document the recent developments in the area of bioenergy for all types of stakeholders. The book highlights the need for biofuels and their market, the barriers and challenges faced by biofuels and bioenergy, and future strategies required to foster new ideas for research, collaboration, and commercialization of bioenergy. It addresses various topics, such as biomass and energy management; thermochemical conversion processes; biochemical conversion processes; catalytic conversion processes; electrochemical processes; waste treatment to harvest energy; and integrated processes. It will prove a valuable resource for students, researchers, professionals and policymakers in the field of biofuels and bioenergy.

Dr. Sachin Kumar has been working as a Deputy Director in the Biochemical Conversion Division at the Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Bio-Energy, Kapurthala, India. He completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. He has more than twelve years of research experience in Biochemical Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels including lignocellulosic ethanol, biogas, biohydrogen, etc. During his career at SSS-NIBE, he has developed the state of the art laboratory facilities for Biochemical Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels. He has completed three research projects and one consultancy project and actively engaged in two on-going research projects. He is co-ordinating for one of the projects under Indo-Brazil bilateral collaboration from Indian side. His area of research is biofuels including bioethanol, biogas, biobutanol, and biohydrogen, algal biomass, bioprocess engineering, enzyme technology, metabolic engineering, etc. Dr. Sachin has published more than 45 papers in peer reviewed journals, book chapters and papers in conference proceedings and 07 edited books. He has been granted one US patent and one filed patent in India. He is a recipient of 2016 ASM-IUSSTF Indo-US Research Professorship and selected as Bioenergy-Awards for Cutting Edge Research (B- ACER) Fellow 2016 by DBT and IUSSTF. He is serving as an editor, assistant editor and editorial board member of various peer reviewed journals. He has coordinated three national & two international conferences and four national training programs.

Dr. Rajesh Sani is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Applied Biological Sciences at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, South Dakota.  His research includes extremophilic bioprocessing of lignocellulose-based renewables for biofuels and bioproducts and bioprospecting of extremophilic microorganisms for developing more efficient and cost-effective biofuel (bioenergy) production technologies.  Over the past 11 years, he has been the PI or co-PI on over $12 million in funded research.  Several of his accomplishments in research and advising include: i) Postdocs supervised (7); ii) Graduate students supervised (MS students, 10 and PhD, 6), and iii) Undergraduate students and K12 teachers supervised (over 35).  He has one patent, five invention disclosures, and published over 55 peer-reviewed articles in high impact factor journals, and has contributed in several book chapters.  He is currently acting as editor and co-editor for three text books which will be published by Springer International Publishing AG.  In addition, he has been a proposal reviewer and panelist for the Federal Agencies i) National Science Foundation, ii) U.S. Army Research Office, iii) Department of Energy, iv) U.S. Geological Survey, and v) User Facility - Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory.  He also serve the Industrial Microbiology profession as “Biocatalysis Program Committee Member” of the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB), technical session chair at the Annual American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and SIMB, an associate editor.

Prof. (Dr.) Y. K. Yadav received his Ph.D. in Energy Studies from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and is currently director of the Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Bio-Energy, Kapurthala, India. He has been actively engaged in research, teaching, consultancy, administration and management in the field of renewable energy for more than two decades. He developed and taught renewable energy courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, India, and established a Renewable Energy Laboratory there. He has also contributed to the establishment of the Department of Energy at Tezpur University, Assam, India.