Lab News

5th International Conference on Bioresource Technology for Bioenergy, Bioproducts & Environmental Sustainability

Organized by Elsevier, BIORESTEC 2027 will bring together researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers from around the world to discuss the latest trends in biotechnology, bioenergy, and biobased products. The conference is closely tied to Bioresource Technology, the leading Q1 journal (IF 9.7) for which Prof. Samir Kumar Khanal serves as Editor-in-Chief, together with its sister journal Bioresource Technology Reports, as supporting publications. Prof. Khanal and Dr. Surendra K.C. both serve on the conference's Scientific Committee, alongside colleagues from the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (France), Technical University of Munich, and UC Davis.

Nanobubble Technology in Agriculture: Mechanisms to Tech Transfer

Prof. Samir Kumar Khanal was invited as a Keynote Speaker at the 2026 International Conference on Nanobubbles, Nanodroplets, and Their Applications (Nanobubble 2026), hosted by the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Building on the strong legacy of previous meetings in Kyoto, Magdeburg, Suzhou, Coffs Harbor, Shanghai, and Les Houches, Nanobubble 2026 brought together researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers from around the world to advance the science and real-world application of nanobubble and nanodroplet technologies across agriculture, water treatment, food engineering, energy, and healthcare.

Prof. Khanal's keynote, co-authored with Kyle Marcelino, Ty Shitanaka, Shreeja Lopchan Lama, and Dr. Surendra K.C., highlighted the group's work developing nanobubble technology-integrated soilless agriculture platforms across HKUST and the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa — taking the technology from fundamental mechanisms toward technology transfer. He also connected with fellow researchers on nanobubble applications in agriculture at a related gathering, the Nanobubbles in Agriculture Workshop organized by BARD, which examined how nanobubble-enriched water can support more productive and sustainable farming.

Micro-aeration Workshop, Oral Presentations & Poster

Dr. Khanal took an active leadership role at the 19th IWA World Conference on Anaerobic Digestion in Valencia, Spain. He proposed and co-chaired a workshop on "Micro-aeration in anaerobic digestion processes: lab-to-full-scale testing", together with Ana Cavaleiro (University of Minho) and Lut Raskin (Yale University), as part of Track 4: New Approaches and Applications (9:00–12:30).

The Khanal team also delivered two oral presentations and one poster presentation. Dr. Khanal presented "Intermittent Microaeration: A Comparison Between Lignocellulosic Digestion and Food Waste-Sewage Sludge Co-Digestion," and Dr. Zhou presented "When Does Microaeration Enhance the Valorization and Stabilization of Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) Process Water?" The team additionally presented a poster on "Experimental Evaluation and Advanced Control Strategy for Pig Manure and Crude Glycerol Co-Digestion Optimization."

Advancing Sustainability and Climate Resilience through Organic Waste Valorization

A compact three-day international gathering co-hosted by HKUST, Udayana University (host, Bali), and Korea University. The symposium brought together 50–60 researchers and practitioners to share the latest advances in resource recovery, anaerobic digestion, wastewater treatment, and climate-resilient waste valorization. Prof. Samir Kumar Khanal delivered a keynote address at Universitas Udayana's Fakultas Teknik and was presented with a Keynote Speaker Certificate by the host faculty.