(284e) Renewable Bioenergy Development in Singapore and Recent Discoveries On Biofuel Generation

As a modern urbanized city, Singapore faces two great challenges (1) how to manage wastes properly and (2) how to obtain new clean energy.  In Singapore, more than 2 million tonnes of organic wastes (comprising mainly of food, plastics, glass, paper, and wood/ horticulture wastes) were generated each year. This staggering amount of waste generation is expected to increase along with the rapid economic and population growth. Being a small and densely populated country with a hot and humid climate (land area: 710.2 km²; population of 4.8 million), Singapore has to face the challenge of linking wastes to energy, thus research is centering on converting organic waste biomass into sustainable form of clean energy—biofuels.  This is of tremendous significance as Singapore lacks natural resources as well as free land.  This talk will cover an overview on recent developments in biotechnology for biofuels generation and funding investments into sustainable energy in Singapore/Southeast Asia.  Additionally, our interesting research discoveries on lignocellulosic biomass and food wastes to biofuels will also be discussed.  Singapore is aiming to be recognized globally as an eco-friendly city with sustainable prosperity.