Are biorefineries the next panacea?
That is the question being presented by Prof. Mukund Sibi at next week’s Science Café. What is a Science Café? Great question. This is an informal forum for the community to have a conversation with a scientist. The NDSU College of Science and Mathematics sponsors these events every month and holds them off campus out in the community. These are designed to be more of a dialogue with the public. The point is to have a conversation about a science topic rather than a lecture.
Prof. Sibi is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at NDSU. He is a synthetic organic chemist and has a long-standing interest in utilizing plant-based resources for fine chemicals and materials.
If you would like to go:
Science Café
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
7:00 pm
Stoker’s Basement of the Hotel Donaldson
101 Broadway, Fargo
Here is Dr. Sibi’s abstract:
Fossil fuels are currently our primary source of energy and chemicals. There is a large debate on the sustainability of fossil fuels as an energy source for the future as well as its negative impact on global climate. Thus there is an urgency to identify eco-friendly alternatives to fossil fuels. Biomass has been hailed as a potential renewable resource alternative to fossil fuels. This talk will discuss the pros and cons on the concept of biorefineries as a replacement for petroleum refineries to meet the growing needs of the 21st century world.
