October 2007 North Bay Meeting Notice
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Date: Thursday, October 18, 2007 |
Price: |
Dr. Chris Guay, Director, Research & Development, Community Fuels
The presentation will include a brief introduction to biodiesel (i.e., fatty acid methyl esters), a liquid fuel derived from vegetable oils and/or animal fats that is currently one of the fastest growing renewable fuels worldwide. Current methods used in the industrial production of biodiesel and key areas where current research efforts are being focused in order to improve cost and energy efficiency and reduce environmental impacts will be discussed. These include the development of alternative feedstocks (including algae), alternative processes for carrying out the production reactions, and new catalysts for the transesterification and esterification reactions involved in the production process.
About the speaker: Dr. Guay was born and raised in Hawaii, where he attended Punahou School. He received a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of California, Davis, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Oceanography from the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University.
Dr. Guay was selected as a postdoctoral fellow of the NOAA Climate and Global Change Program. His research interests include geochemical tracers of Arctic river waters and the interaction between the Arctic system (land, ocean, atmosphere, ice and biota) and global climate.
Dr. Guay is currently employed as Director of Research and Development for Community Fuels, a California-based biodiesel production company that will be opening a facility at the Port of Stockton later this year. He also teaches part-time at local universities (current/past assignments have included UC Davis, Laney College, and Cal State East Bay) and is an adjunct faculty member of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii.
Reservations requested by End of Day October 15, 2007.
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