Participation of Co-Director Dr. Mariya Marinova at the LignoBiotech symposium

Dr. Mariya Marinova, professor at the Royal Military College of Canada and Co-Director of G6094 (Sub-project 3), participated at the 7th LignoBiotech symposium. The symposium is a major international event dedicated to the lignocellulosic biotechnologies and was held on October 14-17, 2024, in Toulouse, France.

Researchers, industry and government representatives from eighteen countries attended the event. Sessions on the following themes were organized: 1) Linking biomass molecular structure to bioproducts and biobased materials, 2) Advances and cutting-edge technologies for enzyme discovery and engineering, 3) Modelling and artificial intelligence contribution to lignocellulose valorisation, 4) Bioconversion using single and co-cultures or natural and synthetic microbial consortia, 5) Circular bioeconomy: valorising lignocellulose residues and its lignin fractions, and 6) Sustainable processes: LCA for lignocellulose bioconversion. Discussions around the societal, economic and environmental issues related to the themes of the symposium occurred during the sessions and at the networking events.

Dr. Marinova presented a poster entitled “Valorisation of Miscanthus biomass from metal-contaminated lands”, co-authored by Gabriel Curt-Cavenz, RMC, student who was trained on the NATO project’s related topics. Stimulating discussions around the work presented by Dr. Marinova occurred during two sessions dedicated to poster presentations. Poster visitors appreciated how biomass used for decontamination of military lands can be converted into bio-based products and support the circular economy.

Opportunities for future collaborations were discussed with participants from Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Poland, and Sweden. The participation at the LignoBiotech symposium allowed to increase knowledge on lignocellulosic biomass valorisation, to learn about new developments, to network and make new connections.