To promote scientific and technological innovation and energize the vitality of young scholars, the Fluidized Bed and Biomass Group successfully held the first 2025 Autumn “Clean Energy Forum” on November 24 in the N102 Lecture Hall of the Clean Energy Building. The forum was chaired by Professor Jingai Shao and Postdoctoral Researcher Dr. Juping Liu, and featured invited lectures by distinguished scholars Professor Elena Krivoshapkina and Professor Pavel Krivoshapkin from ITMO University, Saint Petersburg, Russia. In addition, five outstanding doctoral students delivered presentations on their latest research progress.
The forum opened with a keynote lecture by Professor Elena Krivoshapkina entitled “A Sustainable Approach to Energy Generation and Environmental Remediation Using Advanced Technologies.” She highlighted the application potential of biopolymer–carbon quantum dot composites in energy production and environmental remediation. Owing to their highly reactive surface functional groups, biopolymers serve as ideal carbon sources for the synthesis of carbon quantum dots. When anchored on biopolymer matrices, these carbon quantum dots form hybrid materials with distinctive physicochemical properties. Through accurate structural prediction and programmable fabrication of biopolymer-based catalytic materials, these functional materials can serve as both catalysts and adsorbents, showing broad prospects in biofuel production, pollution prevention and control, and biomaterial development.
Professor Pavel Krivoshapkin then delivered a report entitled “Synergistic Effects and Future Perspectives of Magnetic Field-Enhanced Electrocatalysis.” He focused on the enhancement of metal nanoparticle electrocatalysis under magnetic fields, including magnetohydrodynamic and spin-selective effects, and discussed their applications in water electrolysis and carbon dioxide reduction. This work provides practical technological pathways for high-efficiency electrocatalysis and lays a foundation for the future design of magnetic-field-synergized catalytic materials and the development of new electrocatalytic reaction systems.
Next, Dr. Junting Li presented on the topic “Photothermal catalytic oxidation of toluene by doped SrTiO3 via one pot hydrothermal synthesis”. He discussed the catalytic effects of modified SrTiO3 with different doping ratios of Ce and Mn, as well as under Ce-Mn co-doping conditions, on the photothermal oxidation of toluene. The doping of Ce and Mn not only enhanced the catalyst's response to visible and near-infrared light but also increased the content of Oads, Ov, and free radicals while improving low-temperature reducibility. This demonstrates the application potential of Ce-Mn doped SrTiO3 in the field of photothermal catalytic oxidation of VOCs.
Dr. Chun Wang delivered a report titled “Numerical simulation on O2/H2O gasification of biochar in circulating fluidized bed”. In the presentation, Dr. Wang Chun showcased his numerical simulation research on the steam gasification of biochar in a fluidized bed, explaining the gasification behavior and characteristics of biochar. Based on these findings, he proposed a design for a fluidized bed reactor that incorporates baffles to enable zoned reactions, integrating gasification with CaO internal circulation. This design provides important technical support for the mechanistic study of steam gasification of biochar in fluidized beds.
Dr. Wenkai Xu presented the preliminary experimental progress of his research on “Joule heating drived plastic pyrolysis”. Compared to non-contact and single-sided Joule heating methods, the coated Joule heating approach offers more uniform temperature distribution and faster heat transfer. The volatiles generated from the initial pyrolysis of plastics are forced to pass through the heated foam metal coating material, where they undergo catalytic cracking and reforming. This provides a new technical pathway for controlling the process and product distribution in Joule heating drived plastic pyrolysis.
Dr. Yongwen Lu delivered a report titled “Investigation on Stepped Fin-Foam in High-Temperature Thermal Energy Storage: Boosting Power Density and Reducing Costs”. He proposed a stepped metal foam fin and investigated its application in a shell-and-tube phase change thermal energy storage tank through numerical simulations. This provides a new technical pathway for enhancing heat transfer in phase change thermal energy storage processes.
Finally, Dr. Peixuan Xue presented a report titled “From Thermogravimetric Analysis to Catalyst Design: Machine Learning-Assisted Research on High-Value Biomass Thermal Conversion”. Addressing the challenge of predicting product composition and characteristics based on biomass composition and operating conditions, which often fails to cover biomass pyrolysis under diverse conditions, two novel methods were developed to expand the application potential of machine learning in thermal conversion processes: a biomass thermogravimetric curve prediction model based on an attention mechanism and physically-inspired constraints, and the application of a category-aware CatBoost framework with dynamic encoding of catalyst classification features in syngas catalytic regulation. These approaches enable accurate and flexible prediction of thermogravimetric behavior across different feedstocks and conditions, as well as precise characterization of catalyst behavior during thermal conversion. This provides crucial technical support for elucidating the mechanisms of biomass catalytic pyrolysis and selecting suitable catalysts.
The forum enabled in-depth academic exchange among young scholars and provided a platform to discuss the current status and future prospects of clean energy technologies both domestically and internationally. It showcased the group’s innovative achievements in renewable energy, energy storage, and clean energy utilization, while further strengthening international academic exchange and collaboration. The Fluidized Bed and Biomass Group will continue to advance the development of clean energy technologies, contributing to the achievement of the “dual-carbon” goals and the sustainable development of renewable energy.
