11th International Conference on Renewable Resources and Biorefineries (RRB-11; York, UK, June 3–5, 2015)

Introduction

The RRB Conference aims at providing an overview of the scientific, technical, economic, environmental and social issues of renewable resources and biorefineries in order to give an impetus to the biobased economy and to present new developments in this area. The Conference offers a forum to leading political, corporate, academic and financial people to discuss recent developments and set up collaborations.

Delegates from university, industry, governmental and non-governmental organizations and venture capital providers will present their views on industrial biotechnology, sustainable (green) chemistry and agricultural policy related to the use of renewable raw materials for non-food applications and energy supply.

RRB-11 is a co-organization of the Universities of Ghent (Belgium) and York (UK).

The 3-day international conference will consist of keynote lectures, invited talks and oral presentations by international experts, two poster sessions. Concurrently with the Conference an exhibition will take place.

Conference topics and call for abstracts

Apart from the keynote lectures, the RRB Conference consists of 24 sessions (8 time slots with 3 simultaneous sessions). These sessions cover the following topics:

• Bioactive compounds from biomass

• Biobased materials

• Biocatalysis for bioresource transformation

• Bioenergy

• Bioproducts from woody biomass

• Biorefineries

• Chemical platform molecules

• Downstream processing

• Metabolic engineering of fermentation processes

• Micro and macro algae technology

• Nutrient and energy cycling

• Plant cell wall modification

• Policy and standards

• Pretreatment and transformation of lignocellulosics

• Separations and analysis

• Thermochemical transformations of biomass

• Valorisation of biomass waste streams

You are kindly invited to submit your scientific work on one of the above topics. The deadline for the submission of abstracts for oral and PhD short communications is January 15, 2015.

The deadline for the submission of abstracts for poster presentations is February 15, 2015.

Keynote lectures

Keynote lectures will be delivered by the following speakers:

• Paulo Coutinho, Braskem, Brazil: Since 2010, Paulo Coutinho is the Evaluation and Prospection of Renewables Manager at BRASKEM, being responsible for monitoring, identifying and evaluating opportunities in the chemicals from renewable raw materials area. He has conceived, developed and implemented the BRASKEM’s Chemical Roadmap of chemicals from renewable raw materials.

• Changwei Hu, Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, P.R. China

• Piergiuseppe Morone, Department of Law and Economics, Unitelma Sapienza – University of Rome, Italy: Piergiuseppe Morone is Associate Professor of Economics at Sapienza – University of Roma (Italy). He obtained a PhD in Science and Technology Policy at SPRU-Sussex University (UK) in 2003 and an MA in Development Economics from the same University in 1999. His research interests range from knowledge and innovation economics to behavioral economics and biobased economy.

Other confirmed speakers

• David Blomberg Saitton, Processum, Sweden

• Michael Carus, Nova-Institut, Germany

• Phillipe Evon, ENSIACET, Laboratoire de Chimie Agro-Industrielle, Toulouse, France

• Magda Faijes, ICS, University Ramon Llull, Barcelona, Spain

• Edward Green, Green Biologics, UK

• Didier Grillot, Good Sense Consulting, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

• Anthony Lloyd, Novasep Process, UK

• Xindong Mu, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong, P.R. of China

• Giuseppe Oliveiri, Bioprocess Engineering, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

• Marilena Radoiu, R&D SAIREM, France

• Alistair Reid, BioeconomyConsulting AkzoNobel, UK

• Joe Ross, Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC), York, UK

• Vània Gomes Zuin, Chemistry Department, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil

Fringe meetings

Many fringe meetings will take place just prior and during the RRB Conference. Three of these meetings are highlighted here:

EUBIS Workshop

Workshop for EUBIS members on food waste valorization, with talks, discussions and networking sessions.

For more information: www.costeubis.org

The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)

The main goal of the event is to bring together innovative organizations from countries around the globe seeking to collaborate for mutual commercial benefit. Activity will focus on one-to-one 30-min pre-scheduled meetings. The event will promote innovative technology offers and requests from members of our 54 country network which includes non-EU countries such as Brazil, Canada, Israel, Russia, United States, etc. Attendees will include universities, research bodies, large companies, SMEs, sport teams and entrepreneurs.

Fore more information: een.ec.europa.eu

ALCUE-NET

ALCUE NET project supports the European Union – Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (EU-CELAC) Policy Dialogue and Research Process on Science, Technology and Innovation by focusing on the following priorities: Energy; Information and Communications Technology; Bioeconomy; Biodiversity and Climate change.

Specific activities on Bioeconomy are to support the identification and development of concrete pilot activities in the bioeconomy and biorefineries areas specially in Latin America and the Caribbean. Also, these ALCUE NET activities aim to establish a bioeconomy common platform for EU-CELAC policy makers, research institutions and the private sector. The ALCUE NET open meeting, which endeavors to match research/industrial partners on bioeconomy related topics from both regions, will take place on June 5 in York.

Fore more information: www.alcuenet.eu

More fringe events are being finalized now. You are welcome to check the website www.rrbconference.com where fringe events will be added on a regular basis.

Venue

York is a historic walled city at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England and is the traditional county town of Yorkshire to which it gives its name.

The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events in England throughout much of its two millennia of existence. The city offers a wealth of historic attractions, of which York Minster is the most prominent, and a variety of cultural and sporting activities making it a popular tourist destination for millions.

In the 19th century, York became a hub of the railway network and a confectionery manufacturing centre. In recent decades, the economy of York has moved from being dominated by its confectionery and railway-related industries to one that provides services. The University of York and health services have become major employers, whilst tourism has become an important element of the local economy.

The conference takes place at the Park Inn Hotel, conveniently located in the heart of the city. York train station is just a 5-min walk away from the hotel.

General Information

Please visit www.rrbconference.com for further information on the program, registration, hotel accommodation, etc.