CHARLES PARSONS

 

 

The Bioresources Research Centre (BRC) is a recipient of the prestigious Parsons Award which supports world-class research and development in sustainable bioresource utilization. The Parsons programme is an Irish Government (Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources) initiative designed to place Ireland at the forefront of research and development in sustainable energy research. The BRC specialises in the sustainable bioresources utilization, with particular emphasis on biomass-to-energy and waste-to-energy.

The BRC’s Parsons Award focuses on three main thematic areas, and vacancies currently exist in each of these themes:

• biomass production systems, including supply chain optimisation, economic analyses and strategies for addressing Kyoto Protocol commitments.
• biomass conversion technologies, including waste-to-energy and biomass to liquid bio-fuels conversion systems.
• environmental impact assessment, including climate change modelling of biomass-to-energy pathways, taking account of agricultural production systems, food v. biomass production, food kilometres and land-use change.

Through the Charles Parsons Energy Research (CPER) Award, the current bioenergy/biofuels foci at BRC include:

1. optimisation of the balance between production of food versus fuel and addresses the potential utilisation of by-products and waste streams of the agri-food industry as bio-fuels;
2. logistics of production and transport of biomass from sources to strategically located conversion plants (viz. from farm-to-power);
3. economics of biomass-to-energy conversion systems as applicable to Ireland; and integration of these findings with best international practice,
4. impact of energy use (including land-use change) on climate change, and further extend the current BRC work on modelling the impact of climate change and land-use change on farming practices in Ireland;
5. complementing item (iv) by evaluating the other environmental pathways associated with biomass utilisation, including the risk to consumer health - particularly in waste-to-energy scenarios which may provide pathways for pathogens to infect humans (the Marie Curie Fellowship);
6. energy conversion systems via chemical processing pathways (e.g. ethanol, Fischer-Tropsch diesel): evaluating the end-user supply, particularly with regard to liquid bio-fuel (viz. distribution of the fuel, such as petrol/alcohol blends; or Fischer-Tropsch diesel, etc);
7. the environmental impacts of biomass-to-energy systems (viz. “carbon footprints”, energy audits, LCA, GHG emissions, etc);
8. continuing and further developing the research links with recently completed RENEW project partners, VW (Wolfsburg), DaimlerChrysler (Stuttgart), Technical University of Dresden, Technical University of Vienna (TUV and its test facility at Guessing – rated as the biomass “capital” of the EU), Abengoa Bioenergy Plc. In particular, DaimlerChrysler and TUV have extended an open invitation to continue the placement of Masters and PhD students at their facilities, and the CPER Award would enhance the continued development of such unique linkages.

In the context of Irish Energy Research Strategy, the activities via the CPER Award into the future will:

Be geared to enabling the active participation of BRC in coordination and collaboration of energy research activities in Ireland, at pan-European level and internationally. Specific focus will be on the development of knowledge bases and Technology Platforms, for optimisation of biomass production and conversion, including assessment and mitigation of the associated environmental impacts.

Whereas the immediate focus of CPER at BRC is to address the renewable energy needs and issues in Ireland; in the future phase, the BRC will adopt an outward-looking research and technology development focus in order to maintain relevance (state-of-the- art) and to avoid unnecessary overlaps and duplication of efforts. Initial enabling efforts that have already been implemented in the current phase are in the successful ongoing collaboration with: Coillte Forest and its subsidiaries Medite Europe Ltd and Smartply Europe Ltd (wood for energy resource mapping and optimisation of wood feedstock supply logistics); Fraunhofer Institute in Düsseldorf (biogas technology); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (biomass gasification systems for coal replacement); Oregon State University (bioenergy from forest harvesting and residue management); Virginia Tech and Carton Group (biogas from chicken litter) . These have included co-supervised research student placements and short-term staff visits, including sabbatical arrangement for research supervisors.

Continue to bid for further research funding that will enable the BRC, where deserving, to progress findings from the earmarked primary research projects to deliver scalable technologies for industry. For example, in a proposal with Teagasc Oak Park as lead partners, the BRC is involved in consultation for the formation of a National Bioenergy and Industrial Biotechnology Centre. The BRC will also strive to enhance expertise (through recruitment and international staff exchange programmes) and the laboratory infrastructure to address broader aspects of bioenergy research. Through strategic partnership and collaboration with local and international partners, it is envisaged that such an extended research domain will be a crucial link in the roadmap to the development of a bioenergy research centre of excellence after the initial CPER Award.

 

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CONTACT:

Professor Shane Ward by email Tel. +353 1 716 7351
Dr. Kevin McDonnell by email   Tel. + 353 1 716 7472 (Project Manager)
Dr. Ger Devlin by email   Tel. + 353 1 716 7418
Dr. Philp Owende by email   Tel. + 353 1 716 7470
Dr. Colette Fagan by email    Tel. + 353 1 716 7440

Dr.Tony Woodcock by email Tel. + 353 1 716 1833

Dr.Ger Corkery by email Tel. + 353 1 716 1833