Date & Time: Thu.6 Dec., 2018   16:20-17:50
Place: Engineering 110 Lecture Room, Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, Hiroshima University

<Program>

Commentary: Yukihiko MATSUMURA
  Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University 

Lecture: Ryuichi HIROTA
  Associate Professor,Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter, Hiroshima University

“Development of a biosafety system for the cultivation of engineered microalgae in open environments” 

Recent progress in genetic engineering has enabled us to develop various types of useful microalgae. However, engineered microalgae must be cultivated within enclosed bioreactors due to biodiversity concerns. We developed a novel, simple and cost-effective biocontainment strategy that makes host microorganisms strictly dependent on an exogenous supplement of the environmentally rare-chemical, phosphite. Considering the high applicability, cost, and extremely high containment efficacy, this strategy can contribute to developing a reliable and practical biocontainment system that ensures the biosafety of engineered microalgae. 

[Biomass Lecture Series]  “Physical conversion”

Lecture: Yukihiko MATSUMURA
  Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University 

While depletion of energy resources is regarded as a problem, biomass resources produced by living organisms by using solar energy are attracting attention as renewable energy along with natural energy such as wind power and sunlight. For effective utilization of biomass, it is necessary to convert it to secondary energy by appropriate conversion.There are three types of biomass energy conversion: 1) physical conversion 2) thermochemical conversion 3) biochemical conversion.In this evening seminar, we will introduce the physical conversion of biomass.

Chair: Yukihiko MATSUMURA
  Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University

HU-ACE News Letter Vol. 22 was published. (Click)

Date & Time: Wed.14 Nov., 2018   16:20-17:50
Place: Engineering 109Lecture Room, Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, Hiroshima University

  <Program>
Commentary: Yukihiko MATSUMURA
  Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University 

Lecture: Rahmat Iman MAINIL
D2 Student, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University 

1. “Reaction Model of Glyceraldehyde Decomposition in Hot Compressed Water” 
Glyceraldehyde which is undergo retro aldol condensation had been treated under high temperature (350 – 450 °C) and high pressure (25 MPa) of water. A reaction network proposed in this study explained relations among decomposition products. Comparison between experimental and model calculation were performed to show characteristics of each reactions. Results indicated that radical reactions predominate in sub and supercritical conditions. 

2.“Assesment of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) Gasification in Supercritical Water Gasification for Hydrogen Production” 
Nowadays, the expanding of oil palm Industry has given both significant benefit and drawbacks. Besides as a source of national income, production of palm oil obtain a substantial amount of wastes byproducts. One of the most challenging problem is Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME). In this work, characteristics of Supercritical Water Gasification of POME were investigated in a continous reactor at constant pressure of 25 MPa. The effect of temperature (500-600 °C) and residence time (5-50 s) on gas yield and composition, carbon gasification efficiency (CGE) were studied. The results showed that a higher reaction temperature and a longer residence time could enhance the carbon gasification efficiency of POME and leading to higher hydrogen yield.

 【Workshops】≪Biomass Resources≫
Lecture: Yukihiko MATSUMURA
  Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University 
While depletion of energy resources is regarded as a problem, biomass resources produced by living organisms by using solar energy are attracting attention as renewable energy along with natural energy such as wind power and sunlight. Biomass resources include various types ranging from dry to wet or from waste to produced. In this seminar, we will introduce these biomass resources in the form of workshops. 

 Chair: Yukihiko MATSUMURA
  Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University  

Date & Time: Thu .25  Oct., 2018   16:20-17:50

Place: Engineering 110 Lecture Room, Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, Hiroshima University 

<Program>

Commentary: Yukihiko MATSUMURA
 Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University 

Lecture: Apip AMRULLAH
 D3 Student, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University
“Gasification Characteristics of Sewage Sludge under Subcritical Water Conditions”
The gasification sewage sludge in sub-critical water was investigated in a continuous flow reactor. A continuous reactor was employed and experiments were conducted by varying the temperature 300 and 350 °C and residence time 5-30 s with the fix pressure of 25 MPa. The effect of temperature and time on the composition of the product gas were investigated. The gaseous products were analyzed by using a gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with a thermal conductivity detector (TCD) and a flame ionization detector (FID). H2 was detected by GC-TCD with N2 as the carrier gas; CO2 and CO were detected by GC-TCD with He as the carrier gas, and CH4, C2H4, and C2H6 were detected by GC-FID with He as the carrier gas. The results shown the gaseous product mainly contained H2 and CO2 with less amount of CH4 and C2H4, no CO was found. Temperature has not effected on carbon gas efficiency. 

Lecture: Toshiaki Hanaoka
 Senior Research Scientist, Research Institute for Sustainable Chemistry, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology(AIST)
“Simulation and estimation of 1,3-butadiene production process from lignin via syngas”
Three processes for the production of 1,3-butadiene (1,3-BD) from lignin via syngas were proposed and the 1,3-BD yields and power and heat loads were estimated through process simulation. These processes consisted of lignin gasification, conversion of syngas to light olefins (LOs) via (1) dimethyl ether (DME), (2) methanol, or (3) direct synthesis, and isomerization/dehydrogenation of n-C4H8. The process capacity was 200 t/d on a wet lignin basis. The electric power was largely dependent on the process (4777–6073 kW) while the minimum external heat was 97 kW according to pinch analysis. When each reaction proceeded ideally, the process via DME was the most promising.  

Chair: Yukihiko MATSUMURA
  Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University

1st Joint Workshop of ADSM, Hiroshima University and Balittas, Indonesia for efficient utilization of renewable bioresources

Date: 22 Oct, 2018 13:00-17:00

Place: 401N Research Building 4F, Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter,

Contact: Yutaka Nakashimada (Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter, Professor)
:nyutaka@hiroshima-u.ac.jp

Organizer: Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter, Hiroshima University
Co-organaizer: HU-ACE, Biomass Project Research Center, Hiroshima University

Program:
13:00-13:05: Opening remarks:
Prof. Junichi Kato, Dean of ADSM, Hiroshima University (tentative) 

13:05-13:35: Dr. Mochammad Cholid, Dean of Balittas: Research and development program of Balittas 

13:35-14:05: Dr. Marjani, Balittas: Breeding program on fiber crops with special emphasized on bast and leaf fiber crops 

14:05-14:35: Prof. Nurindah, Balittas: Biological control of crop pests: roles of semiochemicals on tritrophic interactions and development of parasitoid attractants 

14:35-15:00:  COFFEE BREAK 

15:00-15:30: Prof. Yukihiko Matsumura, HU-ACE, Hiroshima Univ.: Research activity of HU-ACE and recent progress of hydrothermal treatment of biomass. (tentative, under negotiation) 

15:30-16:00: Assist. Prof. Kenshi Watanabe, ADSM, Hiroshima Univ.: Valuable oil production from various biomass by Aurantiochytrium (tentative) 

16:00-16:30: Assist. Prof. Takahisa Tajima, ADSM, Hiroshima Univ.: Efficient production of biochemicals with simple biocatalyst using psychrophilic microorganisms (tentative) 

16:30-17:00: General Discussion and concluding remarks
Prof. Yutaka Nakashimada, ADSM, Hiroshima Univ. 

Financially supported by Advanced Core for Energetics Hiroshima Univ. (HU-ACE)

HU-ACE News Letter Vol. 21 was published. (Click)

Date & Time: Wed.26 Sep, 2018 16:20-17:50
Place: Engineering 115 Lecture Room, Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, Hiroshima University

<Program>

Commentary: Yukihiko MATSUMURA
Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University

Lecture: Yukihiko MATSUMURA
Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University
“Nitrogen behavior in supercritical water gasification of glycine”
To reduce global warming problems, using energy from renewable source such as biomass instead of fossil fuel is now being sought. Since protein that contain nitrogen compounds is always found in biomass, in this study, glycine, which is the simplest amino acid, was chosen as representative model protein for investigating the simultaneously recovery of ammonia and gas generation under supercritical water gasification. A tubular flow reactor was employed and glycine was gasified in supercritical temperature (390-450 °C) with fixing pressure at 25 MPa and glycine concentration of 1.0 wt% to observe the effect of residence time (5-60s). The behavior of nitrogen and gas production from glycine during the SCWG process were investigated. According to this experiment, most of nitrogen compounds in glycine are in form of ammonia and methylamine. The mainly gaseous that obtained from glycine decomposition were composed of H2, CO2. Small amount of CH4 was generated at high temperature. 

Lecture: Kenichiro TANOUE
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering,Graduate School of Sciences and Engineering for Innovation, Yamaguchi University
“Study on characteristics of carbonization during torrefaction in the packed bed of biomass”
In this study, we conducted component analysis, measurement of high heating value after torrefaction and measurement of heat and mass transfer during the torrefaction in three types of biomass powder: Bamboo, Douglas fir and Bark. It was found that the high heating value (HHV) of Bamboo had the maximum value when the torrefaction temperature was 623 K. The HHV of Bamboo was larger than that of Douglas fir and Bark. The gas flow rate during torrefaction of Bamboo had a constant value because cellulose decomposition could be occurred partly after exothermic decomposition of Xylan. It was suggested that the torrefaction of Douglas fir and Bark would be controlled by thermal decomposition of Mannan and Lignin, respectively. 

Chair: Yukihiko MATSUMURA
Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University

HU-ACE News Letter Vol. 20 was published. (Click)

HU-ACE News Letter Vol. 19 was published. (Click)

HU-ACE News Letter Vol. 18 was published. (Click)

HU-ACE News Letter Vol. 17 was published.（Click）

HU-ACE News Letter Vol. 16 was published.（Click）

The 66th Hiroshima University Biomass Evening Seminar

(The 37th Hiroshima University ACE Seminar)was held.

Date & Time: Mon .23  Jul., 2018   16:20-17:50

Place: Engineering 110 Lecture Room, Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, Hiroshima University

<Program>

Commentary: Yukihiko MATSUMURA

  Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University

Lecture: Kumiko OKAZAKI

Assistant Professor, Collaborative Research Laboratory, Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University

“Biodiesel production from microalga Nannochloropsis”

Nannochloropsis is a genus of marine microalga that can produce high quantities of lipids in the form of triacylglycerol, which has recently attracted attentions as a potential feedstock for biofuel production. In order to achieve the practical use of algal biodiesel,　we are investigating optimal culturing conditions and genome-editing tools for the development of improved Nannochloropsis. In this lecture, I’d like to introduce Nannochloropsis and our study of the optimization of culturing condition.

Lecture: Pattraporn CHANGSUWAN

D3 Student, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University

“Reaction rate analysis for supercritical water treatment of guaiacol”

The effect of residence time in the range of 15 to 90 s on supercritical water gasification of guaiacol as model compound of lignin was studied at temperature of 600 ℃, pressure 25 MPa, and fixed concentration of guaiacol of 0.5 wt%. The result in total organic carbon decreased while char product increased with residence time. However, the residence time did not affect carbon gasification efficiency.

Chair: Yukihiko MATSUMURA

  Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University

・Date: 10:00 5th Jul, 2018
・Title: Neutron scattering and imaging methods – overview methods and possibilities
・Speaker: Prof. Bjørn C. Hauback, Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Kjeller, Norway
・Place: Hiroshima University, Hitashi-Hiroshima Campus,School of Advanced Science of Matter. Conference Room 403N

・Abstracts: Neutron scattering is an important method for characterization of materials. Neutrons have several unique properties: (i) the scattering from light elements is similar to heavy elements in the periodic table; (ii) neutrons have a magnetic moment and unique for characterization of magnetic materials; (iii) neutrons penetrate far into many materials, and thus unique to study bulk properties and easy to use complex sample environments; and (iv) the scattering between neighboring elements and isotopes of same element can be very big. This presentation will cover different advantages of neutron scattering methods, different types of neutron-based instrumentation and examples of applications.
IFE is running a reactor, JEEP II, that is used for neutron scattering. The present and coming instrumentation in our upgrade program, NcNeutron – Norwegian Center for Neutron Research (www.ncneutron.no), will be presented.

・Date: 16:00 5th Jul, 2018
・Place: Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, School of Engineering. Conference Room 110
・Speaker: Prof. Bjorn Hauback, Department Head, Physics Department, Institute for Energy Technology, Norway
・Title: Rare-earth borohydrides – Crystal structures and thermal properties

・Abstracts: Metal borohydrides have been extensively investigated over the last years
both as potential hydrogen storage materials and as solid state electrolytes in Li-ion batteries. During the last years our interest has been directed to the synthesis and properties of transition metal- and rare-earth (RE) borohydrides with different metal atoms and in some cases with anion substitution. This work presents detailed studies of the crystal structures and thermal properties of RE-borohydrides. These compounds show a big structural variety with anion substation, polymorphism, difference in coordination numbers and multiple oxidation states. The thermal decomposition of the mixtures has been studied by in situ synchrotron radiation powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis / differential scanning calorimetry and temperature programmed desorption. Composites with RE-borohydrides and LiBH4/LiH could be cycled at relatively mild conditions.

HU-ACE was held the International Symposium ISFE2018 on July 2-4, 2018.

ISFE2018_prog.pdf

HU-ACE News Letter Vol. 15 was published (in Japanese).（Click）

HU-ACE News Letter Vol. 14 was published (in Japanese).（Click）

HU-ACE News Letter Vol. 13 was published (in Japanese).（Click）