Biorefineries 2012

III Latin American Congress

Biorefineries

Ideas for a sustainable world

November 19th to 21th 2012, Pucón,  Chile.

Presentation

The III Latin American Congress on Biorefineries is the leading meeting in Latin American on new uses of forest, agricultural and microalgal biomass as a source of bioenergy, chemical products and biomaterials. The event is aimed at representatives from the productive, academic and public sector; in particular, professionals, executives and scientists.
The Congress will be held at the Gran Hotel of the lake resort in Pucon, Chile, between November 19th and 21st of 2012. The organization is in charge of the Technological Development Unit (UDT) and the Biotechnology Center, both of the Universidad de Concepción, and the Scientific and Technological Center in Bio-resources (BIOREN) of the Universidad de La Frontera.
The program considers the presentation of lectures and posters, through which the progress, challenges and opportunities of biorefineries in Latin America and the world will be known.

Subject areas

 

Chemical Processes

Biomass conversion processes are included to obtain intermediate products of commercial interest, as well as scientific, technological, and economic aspects, methodology optimization, product characterization and applications.
The main topics that are considered for this subject area are:
  • Hydrolysis of wood, other lignocellulosic raw materials and microalgal biomass.
  • Separation processes of biomass components with organic solvents, gases under sub-and supercritical conditions, ionic liquids, among others.
  • Transesterification.
  • Chemical modification of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin.
  • Refinement of by-products from lignocellulosic and microalgal biomass to obtain biofuels and bioproducts.
  • Scaling of chemical processes.

Thermochemical Processes

The biomass thermochemical conversion subject area considers processes at the laboratory, pilot and industrial level, product characterization and applications, and especially the obtaining of solid, liquid and gaseous biofuels. The following areas are considered:
  • Process of wood, bark and waste organic materials roasting, pellets and roasted pellets.
  • Fast and slow pyrolysis to produce bio-oil and biochar.
  • Hydrothermal processes of biomass conversion or its components.
  • Fischer-Tropsch by-products and bio-oil.
  • Biogenic methane obtained through methanation of synthesis gas and hydrogen.

Biological Processes

Biological processes consider the conversion of carbohydrates present in agricultural, forest and microalgal biomass into intermediate products of scientific or commercial interest, including, among others:
  • Alcoholic fermentation and bioethanol production.
  • Anaerobic digestion and biogas production.
  • Hydrolysis of biomass.
  • Use of bacteria and enzymes to obtain specific products of interest.

Sustainability

This area is focused on the life cycle analysis in biorefining processes, the analysis of economic, energy, environmental and social sustainability of the use of biomass as a substitute for oil, as well as logistics and availability of biomass. In particular, the following topics are considered:
  • Life cycle analysis of biomass biorefining processes.
  • Economic, environmental and/or social assessment on biorefining processes.
  • Energy balance of biorefining processes.
  • Biomass logistics applied to biorefineries.
  • Availability of biomass as raw material for biorefineries.

Biomaterials

Products and processes related to new types of biomaterials, their characterization and development of commercial applications are considered; in particular, it is important to note:
  • Thermoplastic biomaterials.
  • Biodegradable materials.
  • Thermosetting resins based on renewable resources.
  • Composite biomaterials.
  • Conventional and functional packaging based on renewable resources.

Raw Materials

Includes raw materials for biorefineries, both from forest, agricultural and microalgal origin. All relevant aspects for their processing, such as availability, cost, physical and chemical characteristics, and supply feasibility are considered. In particular, it is important to note:
  • Availability and characterization of raw materials.
  • Supply logistics (harvest, storage, transport).
  • Preparation, through drying, size reduction, densification and others
  • Cost.

Biofuels

This subject area includes all types of biofuels (solid, liquid or gaseous) feasible to produce agricultural, forest or microalgal biomass. In particular, it is important to note:
  • Gaseous biofuels: Biogas, biogenic methane, bio-hydrogen, synthesis gas
  • Liquids biofuel: Bioethanol, butanol fuel, biodiesel, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis BTL, bio-oil, jet fuel, biohydrocarbons.
  • Solid biofuels: Pellets and roasted pellets, other solid biofuels.

Organizing Committee

Scientific Committee

 

Location of the Congress

Pucón is a beautiful city located in southern Chile, 100 km from Temuco, capital of the Araucanía Region and 670 km from Santiago. It has many options for outdoor entertaining, along with volcanoes, lakes, native forests, national parks and thermal facilities. Pucon is considered one of the most important tourist destinations in Chile and is the gateway to the Chilean Patagonia.
How to get to Pucón?

Pucón is located 109 km. from Temuco, 25 km. from Villarrica and 789 km from the city of Santiago de Chile. You can get:

By Plane

From Santiago, you must arrive at Maquehue Airport in Temuco located approximately 7 km from Temuco. From there, you must take a bus or shuttle to Pucón (100 km).

By Bus

From Temuco, there are departures every half hour. Most buses that depart from Santiago circulate overnight.

By Train

Every night there are departures from Santiago to Temuco, in different classes. In Temuco, you must take a bus to Pucon at the Local Passenger Terminal of this city.

By Car

There are two main ways to get to Pucón, from the north through the Pan American Highway, Santiago or Concepción through Temuco, Freire and Villarrica until getting to Pucón through a paved road that borders Villarrica Lake. From the south, Puerto Montt and Valdivia through Loncoche and Villarrica; both roads are in good conditions and paved. The total distance if traveling from Santiago to Pucon is 789 km, which corresponds to about 10 hours of travel.

Accommodation

The Gran Hotel Pucón (http://www.enjoy.cl/enjoy-pucon/hotel), place where the Congress will be held, has special rates for attendees. For this, you should make the reservation to reservas@enjoy.cl or the phone number +56 – 600-700-6000.

Workshop on “Opportunities for International Cooperation”

The Workshop on “International Cooperation Opportunities”, organized by the Department of International Relations and the European Union Programme of CONICYT, will be held within the framework of the III Latin American Congress on Biorefineries. The activity will be carried out on November 21st starting at 14 hrs., at the Gran Hotel Pucon, Chile.

more

Among the speakers, Dr. Tarja Tamminen from the Technical Research Centre of Finland, VTT of Finland and Dr. Robbert Kleerebezem from the Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, can be highlighted.

Objectives:

Provide a forum for exchange among researchers in the areas associated with biorefineries, sharing project progress and exploring joint research lines.

Foster and promote the international cooperation between the national and international scientific communities, through the research results exchange and the presentation of funding opportunities in several international cooperation programmes.

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