9/2/2010
Environment-enhancing energy might seem like an oxymoron to many people, but that topic was the focus of a three-day forum held this summer in Beijing, China. More than 120 people from academia, industry and the government, in China and the United States, met to discuss the idea of energy and environment as ‘friendly’ co-existents.
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Environment-enhancing energy might seem like an oxymoron to many people, but that topic was the focus of a three-day forum held this summer in Beijing, China. More than 120 people from academia, industry and the government, in China and the United States, met to discuss the idea of energy and environment as ‘friendly’ co-existents.
“Energy production and environmental protection are among the greatest challenges facing us in the 21st century,” said Yuanhui Zhang, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois, and chair of the international forum. “China and the United States are the top two energy users, and at the same time the top two CO2 emitters. The shared responsibility on these two countries to meet the challenge of energy production that is economically viable yet environmentally sustainable is unprecedented.”
To address this challenge, Zhang coordinated the E² Energy Forum with two purposes in mind. “First, we needed to identify emerging technologies for next generation hydrocarbon liquid fuels that have a total net-zero, or even a negative carbon emission during their life-cycles.”
Zhang said such technologies include liquid fuel conversion from biowaste (for example, pig manure) and biomass (algae). One example is hydrothermal liquefaction, or HTL. “HTL first converts the solid fraction of undried biowaste into crude oil,” said Zhang. “Then algae are grown in the process wastewaters to reuse those nutrients and capture carbon dioxide. Finally,” he said, “the algae are fed back into the process to produce more crude oil. This synergistic single process produces biofuels, improves water quality and captures carbon.”
The second purpose of the forum was to promote collaboration among academia, industry and government agencies in China and the United States. Zhang said this collaboration could include establishing research centers, exchanging scientists and allocating special funding for research and development programs.
Speakers at the forum included Sir Anthony Leggett, Nobel Laureate and a professor of physics at Illinois. Leggett’s topic was “Can Superconductors Help with Energy and Environmental Problems?” The former president of China Agricultural University, Professor Yuanchun Shi, a prominent scientist and a pioneer for promoting biomass bioenergy in China, spoke on “Road Map of Biomass and Bioenergy in China.” Dr. Xianghong Cao, senior vice president of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, a leading expert in the China petroleum industry, spoke on “Developing a Sustainable Biofuels Industry in China.”
Institutions represented on the roster of speakers included the Chinese Academy of Science, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the China Agricultural University, Zhejiang University, Tsinghua University, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC), the University of Arizona, the University of Hawaii, the University of Illinois, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the National Science Foundation.
“This forum was very high profile, and very successful,” Zhang concluded. “Our hope was to continue to bring these topics to the attention of our governments in China and the United States. Energy production is essential to both our countries’ economic well-being, but there are two sides to the story. Whenever we produce or use energy, we have the obligation to protect our environment, to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change. That’s very challenging, and that’s why we do this.”
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Contact: Yuanhui Zhang, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 217/333-2693.
Writer: Leanne Lucas, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 217/244-2862.
If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, Engineering Communications Office, 217/244-7716, editor.