Recent Advances in Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass

Prof. Ashok Pandey is currently Executive Director, Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability-India, Lucknow. His major research and technological development interests are industrial and environmental biotechnology and energy biosciences, focusing on biomass to biofuels and chemicals, waste to wealth and energy, etc.

Dr Thallada Bhaskar, Senior Scientist, is currently heading the Thermo-catalytic Processes Area, Bio-Fuels Division (BFD) at CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, India. He received Ph D for his work at CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) from Osmania University, Hyderabad in the year 1999. He carried out Postdoctoral Research at Okayama University, Okayama, Japan after which he joined as Research Assistant Professor and taught catalysis, chemical kinetics and thermodynamics for ~7 years. He has about 90 publications in journals of international repute, contributed 10 book chapters to renowned publishers (ACS, Elsevier, Woodhead Publishing, CRC Press etc) and 11 patents to his in his field of expertise in addition to 250 national and international symposia presentations.

His 20 years of research experience cover various fields of science revolving around his expertise in heterogeneous catalysis thermo-chemical conversion of biomass, waste plastics and e-waste plastics into value added hydrocarbons. He has prepared several catalysts and thrown a light on the structure activity relationships of novel catalytic materials for hydrotreatment of fossil based crudes. His contributions to the field of sustainable hydrocarbons are in the form of process knowhow and catalyst developments. His patents and publications discuss crucial points encompassing wide areas of thermo-catalytic conversion like pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction for biomass (agricultural, forest residues and aquatic biomass) and plastic waste (industrial and e-waste) conversion. In addition he worked on developing micro-channel reactors for several chemical reactions and separation processes. His other interests include utilization of non-conventional energies for the sustainable production of hydrocarbons utilizing the polymeric wastes available which will make the thermo-chemical methods of conversion more energy efficient.

In view of his expertise, he is on the editorial board of 2 international peer reviewed journals and expert member of several committees. He received the Distinguished Researcher award from AIST (2013), Japan and Most Progressive Researcher award from FSRJ, Japan (2008). He is also the Fellow of Biotech Research Society of India and member of the Governing Council. He received the Raman Research Fellowship for the year 2013-14. He was also a JSPS Visiting Scientist to Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan during 2009. He has carried out several research projects with great success with national and international collaborators. He has organized several international symposia in India and abroad in this area and visited several countries to deliver invited/ plenary lectures. Michael Stoecker received his Diploma in Chemistry in 1975 and his Dr. rer. nat. degree in 1979 - both from the University of Muenster (Germany). He kept positions as Research Assistant at the Universities of Muenster (Germany, 1975-1979) and Bergen (Norway, 1980-1982) before he joined the Center for Industrial Research (SI - now SINTEF) in 1982. In 1988-1989 he had a sabbatical leave at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (Canada). He is the Emeritus Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal "Microporous and Mesoporous Materials?, published by Elsevier B.V.

Furthermore, Michael Stoecker kept side positions as Adjunct Professor at the University of Bergen (Norway, 1999-2004) and the Norwegian University for Science and Technology in Trondheim (Norway, 2004-2007).

Michael Stoecker has 30 years experience within the fields of synthesis, characterization and catalytic testing of different type of materials, covering mainly zeolites, micro- and mesoporous materials and oxide materials related to catalysis, sorption technology, surface modification and design of novel processes. Special interests are within spectrocopy (Solid-state NMR, ESR, XPS), micro- and mesoporous materials, zeolites, catalytic cracking, desulphurization, MTO as well as bio-refinery related catalysis.

He is the author or co-author of about 155 scientific journal publications (including 10 review papers and 10 Handbook chapters), and is co-inventor of two patents. Michael Stoecker has co-edited two scientific books. He has presented about 130 lectures on a national and international basis, about 65 of them based on invitations. He has been project manager of a number of larger industrial contract research projects, Norwegian Research Council and EU projects.

He served on the Board (Council) of the International Zeolites Association (IZA - 1998-2004), as Chairman of the IZA Catalysis Commission (1998-2004 - member since 1994) and as a member of the IZA Synthesis Commission (1992-2004). He is a Member of the Editorial Board of the "Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology?.

He received the DGMK 2009 Award of the German Society for Petroleum and Coal Science and Technology.

Dr Rajeev Sukumaran is senior scientist at the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, in Trivandrum, India. He took his Masters and PhD in Biotechnology from Cochin University of Science and Technology (1993-2000). He had post doctoral trainings in molecular immunology and stem cell biology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York and at the National University Hospital, Singapore respectively, and had worked in an industry on recombinant human insulin production. He joined CSIR-NIIST in November 2004 and since then has been working on enzymes for biomass to biofuel conversion and bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass. Currently he is the activity leader for the Biofuels program of the Centre for Biofuels at NIIST, and had been the program coordinator for NIIST's major laboratory program on biofuels. He played a leading role in setting up the Centre for Biofuel's lignocellulosic ethanol pilot plant at NIIST. Currently his main research interests include-Developing enzymes for biomass conversion to sugars and ethanol, Glucose tolerant ss-glucosidases from fungi, and developing molecular methods for heterologous gene expression in fungi. He has authored reports for national policy making bodies and for international agencies, on biofuels including the International Energy Agency. He is the academic editor of "British Biotechnology Journal? and is a member of the editorial board of "Conference Papers in Energy?. He has authored 56 publications in International Journals and 5 book chapters. He has also served as member of different task forces including Biotech Task Force for the State Council of Science, Technology and Environment, of Kerala state, India and is a member of the panel of reviewers ( for R & D projects) for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India.