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DIBANET Summer School


Monday, December 13th-16th 2010, 13:30-18:00
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


The DIBANET Summer School, aimed at providing in-depth information on technologies for the sustainable production of second generation diesel fuels, took place recently at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro from December 13th to 16th 2010. The School was designed for postgraduate students (Masters and PhD) in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, typically in their first or second years of research, who wanted to engage in the examination of technologies for the sustainable production of second generation diesel fuels, chemicals and biochars from the wastes, residues and non-food crops of Latin America and Europe.

The Summer School took place over four days. Day one overlapped with the DIBANET Networking Day and gave students a valuable opportunity to engage with leading players in the scientific and industrial communities. The remainder of the summer school examined hydrolysis and thermal processing of biomass for second generation biofuel production. This included a series of lectures on carbohydrates chemistry, biomass characterization, hydrolysis, and products analysis as well as on pyrolysis, characterisation of pyrolysis products, catalytic pyrolysis and catalytic upgrading of products. The course offered a unique opportunity for interaction with fellow students and leading international scientific and industrial experts from Europe and Latin America. It was not "all work and no play" either, as there was also plenty of social interaction.

Topics of the summer school were covering both hydrolysis and thermal processing for second generation biofuel production. You can find the detailed agenda here.

Lecturers of the course included key players in scientific communities and industry from Europe and Latin America:
  • Prof. Graciela Baronetti, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina,
  • Prof. Tony V. Bridgwater, Aston University, the United Kingdom,
  • Dr. Buana Girisuta, University of Limerick, Ireland,
  • Prof. Michael H. B. Hayes, University of Limerick, Ireland,
  • Mr. Daniel Hayes, University of Limerick, Ireland,
  • Mr. Daniel Nowakowski, Aston University, the United Kingdom,
  • Dr. Angela Rocha, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
  • Mr. Aparecido Alves, Centre of Sugarcane Technology, Brazil,
  • Mr. Sergio Fabián Sein, YPF, Argentina,
  • Ms. Ana Maria Ruz, Fundación Chile,
  • Dr. Eleni F. Iliopoulou, CERTH, Greece,
  • Dr. Angelos A. Lappas, CERTH, Greece,
  • Dr. Etelvino Novotny, EMBRAPA, Brazil.
The materials of the Summer School will be available for everyone interested in the topic via an e-learning course at the DIBANET website soon.