Prof. Vladimir Strezov

Macquarie University

Speech Title: System Engineering Solutions for Energy Production from Biomass

Abstract: Biomass and wastes are one of the fastest growing energy production sources reaching 10.5% of the world energy supply in 2020. Biomass can readily substitute for the use of coal in the established energy production systems with minor technological adoptions. However, energy production from biomass is still facing many challenges with sustainable resourcing of the biomass materials and efficient conversion to biofuel products. This presentation will discuss the challenges and opportunities for the application of biomass in designing systems of engineering solutions for sustainable energy use and production of renewable biofuels. The opportunities for the use of biomass sources in solving a range of environmental problems, including improvement of marginal or polluted soils, use of biomass for biological geosequestration of carbon and the carbon farming initiatives will also be discussed.

Bio: Professor Vladimir Strezov is a Professor in the School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Australia. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering and a bachelor of engineering in mechanical engineering. Prior to commencing academic work at Macquarie University in 2003, he was a researcher at the Department of Chemical Engineering, the University of Newcastle and at BHP Research in Newcastle, Australia. Professor Strezov leads a research group at Macquarie University working on renewable and sustainable energy, industrial ecology, and control of environmental pollution, and is designing sustainability metrics of industrial operations. Professor Strezov was an advisory panel member for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) (2015-2020), he is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Energy. He is editorial member for the journals Sustainability, Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, and International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications. Professor Strezov is author of ~300 publications and editor of four books: Biomass Processing Technologies, with T. J. Evans (2014), Antibiotics and Antibiotics Resistance Genes in Soils, with M. Z. Hashmi and A. Varma (2017), Renewable Energy Systems from Biomass: Efficiency, Innovation, and Sustainability with H.M. Anawar (2019) and Sustainable and Economic Waste Management: Resource Recovery Techniques with H.M. Anawar and Abhilash (2020).