On the morning of July 21, the opening ceremony of the international workshop of the “Application of Methane Production Using Common Agricultural Wastes” and the international cooperation project of the “Petrochemical Wastewater Treatment by Microbial Fuel Cell and Coupled Membrane Bioreactor” was held at the Yifu Scientific Center of LZU.
The international workshop of the “Application of Methane Production Using Common Agricultural Wastes” is an international science and technology training program sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology, co-organized by Gansu Provincial Science and Technology Department and LZU. LZU has organized the workshop for four times continuously and a total of 23 participants are from Laos, Cambodia, Pakistan, Latvia, Egypt, Sudan, Ghana, Rwanda, Nigeria and India. In the 20-day training, participants are going to learn the theoretical basis of how to transfer the common agricultural wastes such as straw, tail dishes, processing leftover of timber into biomass energy sources, and conduct relevant experimental operations. Participants will also go to farmers’ houses in Xiaguanying Town, Yuzhong County of Lanzhou City to visit the microbial methane fermentation equipments.
During the opening ceremony, An Lizhe, vice president of LZU, introduced China’s biomass energy research and application under the background of the international energy crisis. He stressed the importance of the workshop, and hoped students would work hard and make due contribution the energy cause of their countries. He also wished the workshop would help LZU and other universities and research institutions in developing countries conduct more in-depth cooperation. For example, LZU’s cooperation with Pakistan Agricultural Research Council was facilitated by the workshop.
Zhu Xiaoli, deputy director of Gansu Provincial Science and Technology Department and director of Gansu Provincial Intellectual Property Bureau briefly introduced the situation of the international science and technology cooperation of Gansu Province in recent years. He recognized that LZU contributed a lot to the international science and technology exchanges in Gansu. He also pointed out that trainees were highly educated including four professors. He hoped LZU could contribute to building the Silk Road Economic Zone in China by doing a good job in training. Then, Muhammad Khalid, researcher from Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, introduced the energy situation and policies of new energy development in Pakistan. After the opening ceremony, James Reynolds, Professor from Duke University and visiting professor of LZU through the Thousand Talents Program, made an excellent lecture on Human Domination of the Earth. Officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology will inspect the project during its implementation.
The international cooperation project of the “Petrochemical Wastewater Treatment by Microbial Fuel Cell and Coupled Membrane Bioreactor” is organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology, hosted by Professor Li Xiangkai from School of Life Sciences of LZU, and undertaken by the Lanzhou Branch of PetroChina Company Limited. The project with the professor as project leader and company as the project undertaker marks the new model in China to promote school-enterprise cooperation and enhance the independent innovation capability. By bringing in new technologies and strains from the United States and Italy, the project will contribute to the water resources protection in Gansu with the development of the new industrial complex wastewater treatment plants of microbial fuel cell and coupled membrane bioreactor. In the ceremony, Professor Li Xiangkai introduced the project implementation. Leaders from the PetroChina Company Limited and the Membrane Science and Technology Research Institute of Gansu Province also briefed the preparation and progress of the project. Liu Yemei, deputy director of International Cooperation Office of Science and Technology Department in Gansu Province, noted that the project was one of the key annual international cooperation projects supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2013. She also stated that the participants should attach importance to the progress of the project and timely complete the project appraisal online required by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Leaders and experts from The Scientific Research Office, School of Life Sciences, School of Physics, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of LZU attended the ceremony and delivered speeches.
News Background:
Biomass energy is the solar energy stored in biomass in the form of chemical energy, i.e. energy with biomass as carrier. It is directly or indirectly derived from the photosynthesis of green plants, and can be converted to conventional solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. Being inexhaustible, it is also a renewable energy source, and the only renewable carbon source. Microbial fuel cell is the mechanism to directly transfer the chemical energy of organic matter into electrical energy. As one of the new water treatment technologies, membrane bioreactor combines the membrane separation unit with the biological treatment unit.
(Translated by Li Yafeng; proofread by Sissi Xu)
