Biomass, Biofuels, Biochemicals: Recent Advances in Development of Platform Chemicals

Dr. S. Saravanamurugan is currently Scientist-E at Center of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (CIAB), Mohali, India. Formerly, he was working as Senior Researcher at Centre for Catalysis and Sustainable Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Denmark since 2010. He moved to Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea as Research Scientist in 2005 after obtaining his Ph.D from Anna University, Chennai in the same year. He also worked as post-doctoral fellow at Inha University, South Korea between 2006 and 2007 before moving to Denmark in January 2008. He has more than sixteen years of research experience and his main research topics include synthesis and modification of zeolite and zeotype materials, biomass transformations and ionic liquids. He has 54 peer reviewed publications; two book chapter contributions, and eight patents filed/granted with more than 2000 citations (h Index 21). He has co-authored an article in the prestigious journal Science in 2010, related to conversion of sugars to lactic acid derivatives with Lewis acid containing zeolites. He is visiting professor of Guizhou University, China. He received a DST-DAAD Fellowship during his doctoral studies in 2004.

Hu Li is currently associate Professor at Center for R&D of Fine Chemicals, Guizhou University (GZU), China. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow with a research topic on biomass upgrading at Tohoku University (Japan) and Nanjing Agricultural University (China) under supervision of Prof. R. L. Smith and Prof. Z. Fang, respectively. His research focuses on the catalytic conversion of biomass into chemicals and biofuels with functional catalytic materials. Dr. Li has more than 60 peer-reviewed papers (H-index 16), 6 patents, 1 co-edited Springer book and 2 book chapters on biomass valorization. He is a guest editor of Current Organic Chemistry, and recently was award by the Fok Ying-Tong Education Foundation, Ministry of Education (2018).

Anders Riisager is Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), where he is co-heading the Centre for Catalysis and Sustainable Chemistry. Furthermore, he is visiting Professor at Guizhou University (China) and adjunct Associate Professor at University of Alabama (USA). Before appointed to the current position, he has been Associate Professor at DTU and completed four years of Postdoctoral fellowship at RWTH-Aachen/University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany) under supervision of Prof. P. Wasserscheid. His major scientific focus is on the development of sustainable chemistry with catalysis and renewables as well as chemical technology with ionic liquids. He has authored 125 peer-reviewed scientific papers (H-index 38, >4,700 citations), 23 patents, 1 co-edited book and 9 book chapters including 1 chapter on catalytic biomass valorization. Several of the developed technologies are commercialized to industry and he is also co-founder of two companies dealing with biomass valorization technology.Prof. Riisager is recipient of several national and international awards and fellowships, including the Berzelius Prize from the Nordic Catalysis Society, Reinholdt W. Jorck and Hustrus Fond Research Prize, a prestigious Sapere Aude Starting Grant from the Danish Council for Independent Research and nominee for a Degussa European Science-to-Business Award. He serves as national representative in the EucheMS Division on Green and Sustainable Chemistry.

Professor Ashok Pandey is currently Executive Director, Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability-India, Lucknow. He is HSBS National Innovation Chair (Biotechnology) and is/has been Visiting/Distinguished Professor in many countries. His major research and technological development interests are industrial & environmental biotechnology and energy biosciences, focusing on biomass to biofuels & chemicals, waste to wealth & energy, etc.