Sustainability Webinar | Unlocking the Sustainable Future: New Routes for Bio-Energy, Decarbonization and Environmental Innovation
the chair
Sustainability Webinar
Unlocking the Sustainable Future: New Routes for Bio-Energy, Decarbonization and Environmental Innovation
Dear colleagues, distinguished guests, and attendees,
Welcome to the Sustainability webinar, 'Unlocking the Sustainable Future: New Routes for Bio-Energy, Decarbonization and Environmental Innovation.' It is my absolute pleasure to serve as your Chair. As our global energy landscape undergoes a rapid transformation, transitioning to a circular bio-economy requires more than isolated technical breakthroughs. A multidisciplinary synergy across chemistry, biology, engineering, and environmental science is mandatory to strengthen the resilience of our planet in the 21st century. We are honored to host three exceptional speakers who will explore these cutting-edge frontiers. Their presentations will span innovative microalgae-based bioremediation, bioinspired routes for bioenergy, and green heterogeneous catalysis to convert unconventional biomass into renewable chemicals. This event is organized in collaboration with the MDPI open-access journal Sustainability and is closely linked to our Special Issue, 'Advances in Biorefinery Technologies for Sustainable Future.' We encourage you to engage actively and join us in fostering the collaborations needed to drive industrial decarbonization forward. Thank you all.
Alessandra Palella
Date: 16 July 2026
Time: 10:00 am CEST | 9:00 am BST | 1:30 pm IST (Asia) | 4:00 pm CEST (Asia)
Webinar ID: 891 1259 7590
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Meet the Event Chair
Meet Our Speakers
Dr. Angela Sardo
Ecosustainable Marine Biotechnology Department, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Italy;
Dr. Angela Sardo is a Senior Technologist of the Ecosustainable Marine Biotechnology Department of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn. Her research activity is mainly focused on the use of marine microalgae for biotechnological applications. She investigates the exploitation of microalgae as source of high-valuable compounds, and she also studies possible strategies for the bioremediation of water bodies by employing the capability of microalgae to adsorb and/or to incorporate persistent pollutants. Her expertise includes algal growth in enclosed systems on pre-industrial and industrial scales.
Dr. Ernesto Hernandez
School of Sciences, Psychology, Arts and Humanities, Computing, Engineering and Sports, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK;
Dr. Ernesto Hernandez is a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at Canterbury Christ Church University, where he was the Founding Program Director of Chemical Engineering. Following industry executive experience at Celanese, he obtained a PhD from the University of Sheffield, held three postdoctoral appointments, and was Lecturer at the University of Manchester and Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham, where he was Co-founder of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Tropical Environmental Studies. He leads the Bioinspired Engineering Research Group (BIERG), advancing bioprocess engineering and biocatalysis to integrate water, food and energy within circular-economy approaches for sustainable development. Ernesto is a Senior Member of AIChE, one of the Heads of Chemical Engineering UK and editorial member of multiple journals across chemical engineering and biotechnology.
Dr. Omvir Singh
Department of Sciences and Humanities, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, India;
Dr Omvir Singh is currently working as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Sciences and Humanities at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology. He received his PhD degree from the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) in Chemical Sciences and his thesis epitomized the application of green catalysis for the conversion of unconventional feedstocks to valuable products. After his doctorate, Dr Omvir enjoyed a couple of brief tenures with the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and Kyushu University, Japan as a Post-doctoral Fellow.
During his post-doctoral fellowship, he worked on biomass upgradation and upcycling of waste plastics. He also attempted the holy grail of catalysis research by developing catalysts for low-temperature CO2 hydrogenation. His research at RGIPT shall be directed to the catalytic upgradation of unconventional feedstock such as Tree-Borne Oil (TBO), Sugar (Cellulose), and municipal plastic wastes into drop-in chemicals, which are highly demanding as they can be used without any modification of existing industrial setups. His expertise lies in synthesizing heterogeneous catalysts based on porous materials like zeolite, defect-rich metal oxides, MOF and ZIF-type materials, along with single-atom catalysts (SAC) for application in the development of sustainable processes. He has published more than 50 scientific publications, including reviews, patents, and papers.
Sponsors and Partners
Organizer
Advances in Biorefinery Technologies for Sustainable Future
Edited by Dr. Alessandra Palella and Dr. Lorenzo Spadaro
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2026