Prof. Ahmad Zuhairi bin Abdullah 

Universiti Sains Malaysia

Title: Prospect and Challenges of Biodiesel Blends as Renewable Fuel Sources Towards Sustainability of the Industry: A Malaysia Perspective

Abstract: Biodiesel is the most potential substitute for fossil fuel so far owing to its renewability, sustainable production rate and capability to fulfillment the required fuel specifications. However, there are some technical issues with regards to the green features of the biodiesel production process especially the quality of feedstock, huge amount of wastewater and overproduction of glycerol. Biodiesel often require special additives or fuel heating systems to operate in colder climates. It may also cause some rubber seals and gaskets to fail. It also degrades some hoses, glues and plastics with prolonged exposure. Biodiesel can dissolve sediments in diesel fuel tanks and clog fuel filters. Fully converted monoalkyl esters are the major requirement with regards to biodiesel quality. Unconverted triglicerides could polymerize and eventually build up in the fuel lines. Diesel engine normally has a higher oxide of nitrogen (NOx) emission profile. Producing biodiesel which consistently meets ASTM D6751-19 or EN 14214:2008 is not easily achieved. Biodiesel should also not be stored longer than 6 months. If it is necessary, the acid value should be monitored and necessary additive should be considered to avoid excessive free fatty acid formation. The condensed water in the fuel tank can also support the growth of bacteria and mold. In terms of implementation of biodiesel programs, weak domestic demand and uncompetitive export tax structure are among the factors that can hold back the success of the biodiesel programs. Despite several biodiesel programs introduced on B5, B7, B10 and more recently B20, the success of its implementation is rather limited due to engine technical compatibility, its relatively high price and unfavorable international policy for the use of palm oil in biofuel program. Besides, the surplus of glycerol as a by-product of biodiesel industry in the market is a challenging situation as it is now considered a waste material.

Prof. Yihan Xing，

University of Stavanger

Title: Accelerating Large-Scale Adoption of CCS - Large Cargo Drones for Transportation of CO2

Abstract: To support and accelerate large-scale adoption of carbon capture storage (CCS), researchers at University of Stavanger (UiS) have designed two highly innovative subsea drones concepts, the 32 000 ton Subsea Shuttle Tanker and 1 500 ton Subsea Freight-Glider. These concepts are designed to to transport carbon dioxide liquid to marginal subsea fields on Norwegian continental shelf. Both concepts are extremely energy efficient and since they travel subsea, they could be also utlised in all types of weather conditions. These new concepts have the potential to enable the exploitation of these marginal fields as carbon storage sites, which would be otherwise economically unfeasible. UiS reseachers have worked on and published extensively on these concepts since 2019 in areas of design considerations, vessel design, structural design optimisation, control and maneuvering, and technical-economical feasility studies. Results from these works will be summarized and presented.

Experience: 

Dr. Yihan Xing is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Subsea Technology at the University of Stavanger. He obtained his PhD and MSc in Marine Technology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and B.Eng (1st class honors) in Mechanical Engineering from National University of Singapore. Dr. Xing has 7 years of industrial experience as a lead subsea pipeline engineer and senior mechanical analysis specialist in subsea companies. Dr. Xing has more than 50 technical publications and has supervised 19 postgraduate students. He is currently supervising 2 PhD and 11 MSc postgraduate students.

Dr. Yangyang Zhao, 

State Grid (Suzhou) City and Energy Research Institute,Tsinghua University

Title: Electric-thermal Coordinated Control of Residential Building Integrated to Renewable Energy Systems

Abstract: 

Aiming at the problem of low equivalent inertia in distribution network caused by the gradually increase of photovoltaic penetration rate in building energy system, a virtual synchronous control method is proposed, via converting the potential thermal inertia of building indoor space into equivalent electrical inertia. The basic operating conditions of a variable frequency air conditioner powered by the photovoltaic system are analyzed. Then, the mathematical model is established according to the electro-thermal relations of the air conditioner. Furthermore, the parameters of the proposed virtual synchronous control are designed elaborately according to the variations of photovoltaic output features, as well as to ensure the indoor temperature is within the comfort zone for the residents. Lastly, a collaborative simulation network consisted of the photovoltaic and the air conditioner is built to verify the feasibility of system, which can achieve the maximum power tracking under the fluctuations of solar radiation and the indoor temperature in steady-state, while the proposed control method can extract the thermal inertia to provide frequency support during system frequency disturbance, so as to improve the dynamic stability of the distribution network with a large share of solar energy.

Experience: 

Yangyang Zhao is currently a researcher at State Grid (Suzhou) City and Energy Research Institute. He received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Tsinghua University, China, in 2018. His major fields of study are control and grid-integration of distributed energy generations, technical and economic analysis of energy manage system. He has published more than 20 academic papers, authorized 8 patents, and co-published one monograph.

Assoc. Prof. Zhou Xiao-yan

China University of Petroleum

Title: Study on low temperature conduction mechanism of Al doped ZnO/SiO2/p-Si heterojunction

Abstract: 

The 3 at% Al doped ZnO thin films were deposited on p-Si substrate with a native SiO2 layer by compression-type spray pyrolysis method. The microstructure of the heterojunction surface is characterized by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The current-voltage characteristics, alternating capacitance, impedance and electrical conductivity of Al-doped ZnO thin film/p-Si heterojunction were investigated under different ultraviolet (UV) intensities. The direct current resistance and impedance of the heterojunction decrease with increasing of light intensity, while the capacitance and electrical conductivity value increase, the heterojunction exhibits good UV photoconductive performance. The changes of electrical properties effected by UV light are explain by the energy-band diagram of the Al-doped ZnO/p-Si heterojunction. The optical direct band gap value (Eg) of Al-doped ZnO thin film annealed at 450 ℃ in air is 3.26 eV, which is lower than Eg for undoped ZnO film obtained by various method. Low temperature conduction behaviors were studied by analysis of impedance spectroscopy and low temperature ac conductivity. The results of impedance spectroscopy showed that the grain boundaries contributed to the resistivity of Al doped ZnO/SiO2/p-Si heterojunction. The calculated activation energy was 0.073 eV for grain boundaries. The equivalent circuit to demonstrate the electrical properties of Al doped ZnO/SiO2/p-Si heterojunction was a series connection of two parallel combination circuits of a resistor and a universal capacitor. Low temperature ac conductivity measurements indicated that the conductivity increased with temperature. Low temperature conductivity mechanism was electron conductivity, and the activation energy was 0.086 eV．

Experience: 

Zhou Xiaoyan, female, 1977, Doctor of Materials Science, Associate Professor, Physics Experiment Center, College of Science. Mainly engaged in “college physics experiment”, “general physics experiment”, “basic physics experiment” course teaching and research work. Research direction: the photoelectric properties of silicon-based nano-film research. I have published more than 20 papers as first author or correspondent.

I have a solid professional knowledge of materials science, chemistry, physics and other disciplines, and master the preparation of nanomaterials, microstructure characterization and semiconductor devices related to this topic.