Dr. Shahab Sokhansaj invited to present at CCSHAU’s webinar

On June 21, 2022, Dr. Shahab Sokhansanj of UBC Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group was invited by Dr. Yogender Kumar Yadav of CCS Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU) to present a special webinar, entitled “Role of Supply Chain in Bioconversion Technologies for Sustainable Crop Residue Management” to celebrate the 75th year of independence of India. This webinar is part of the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) program, PI by Dr. Yogender Kumar Yadav (CCSHAU) and Dr. Anthony Lau (UBC), co-PI by Dr. Yadvica (CCSHAU), and Dr. Shahab Sokhansanj (UBC). SPARC program is supported by the government of India’s initiative on Bioenergy Conversion Technologies. Professor Baldev Raj Kamboj, the vice-chancellor of CCSHAU, graciously gave an inaugural address to support the program.

India generates more than 140 million tonnes of surplus crop residue every year; a significant portion of which is burned on the open fields. In his webinar, Dr. Sokhansanj proposed a hub concept, as shown in the picture below by producing biomass feedstock from crop residues to reduce the residue burning in the field. Biomass handling, as a separate hub business, was proposed as a more efficient pathway to meet the requirements of large biorefineries by collecting and processing biomass of varying qualities produced at local smaller-scale farms. A paper, entitled “Identification of Techno-Economically Viable Crop Residue Utilization in India” was published by Dr. Sokhansanj and colleagues in 2021 to discuss the most viable ways to utilize the crop residues.