TIME：14:00, Apr. 3, 2026
VENUE：Lecture Hall, 2F, Bianguan Building, NIMTE
Abstract:
The combustion of fossil fuels-gas, oil, and coal-accounts for nearly 90% of global carbon emissions and remains the primary driver of climate change. Growing concerns over resource limitations and environmental impacts are accelerating the development of clean fuel technologies. With nations striving for carbon neutrality by 2050, renewable and alternative fuels are increasingly vital. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS), which converts syngas (CO/H2) into hydrocarbons and oxygenates, offers a promising route to reduce reliance on crude oil. Coupled with syngas generation from biogas reforming, biomass/waste gasification, and CO2/H2O electrolysis, FTS enables sustainable fuel and chemical production. This research explores these pathways, highlighting CO2 utilization, renewable energy carriers, and solid oxide electrolysis technologies for industrial carbon neutralization.
Speaker Biography:
Dr. Yali Yao is a full professor and leader of the Chemical Fuel Energy platform at theInstitute for Catalysis and Energy Solutions (ICES), University of South Africa. She earned her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2011 and joined UNISA in 2013, rising to full professor in 2022. With over 15 years of expertise in alternative fuels and value-added chemicals, she has published more than 80 papers, authored a book, and supervised over 35 graduate students. Her research advances heterogeneous catalysis and technologies for sustainable fuels, including biomassto liquid, wastetoliquid, CO2 capture and utilization, Conversion of CO/CO2/H2/N2 into dieseland aviation fuels, methane, LPG, ammonia, olefins, oxygenates and other valuable products.
