The International Conference on Thermochemical Conversion Science:
Biomass and Waste to Fuels and Chemicals
August 25–27, 2026 | Historic Brown Palace Hotel & Spa | Denver, Colorado
Preliminary Conference Agenda Please check back for updates
Pre-conference: Monday, August 24, 2026 (U.S. Mountain Time Zone) (subject to change)
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| 2:00 – 6:00 PM | Sponsor and Exhibitor Set-up |
| 3:00 – 6:00 PM | Poster Set-up |
| 6:00 – 8:00 PM | Welcome Reception |
Day 1: Tuesday, August 25, 2026 (U.S. Mountain Time Zone) (subject to change)
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| 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Registration and Information Desk |
| 7:00 – 8:00 AM | Breakfast and Networking |
| 8:00 – 8:05 AM | Conference Welcome |
| 8:05 – 8:15 AM | Opening Remarks |
| 8:15 – 8:45 AM | Keynote Presentation: Department of Energy (DOE) Update Valerie Sarisky-Reed, Department of Energy (DOE) |
| 8:45 – 9:05 AM | Spotlight Presentation: Fast Pyrolysis Technology Enables Commercial Scale Production of SAF, Marine Fuels and Chemicals Gerhard Muggen, BTG Bioliquids |
| 9:05 – 9:25 AM | Plenary Session: A Take-Off into US and Global SAF Policy Jim Spaeth, Aerovida Bio |
| 9:25 – 9:45 AM | Plenary Session: Use of Data-Informed Simulation as a Scale-Up Tool: From Pilot to Commercial Scale Peter Blaser, CPFD Software |
| 9:45 – 10:05 AM | Plenary Session: Accelerating Emerging Technology Innovators Through Lab to Launch Partnership Approach Cody Lockhart, Nexceris |
| 10:05 – 10:25 AM | NETWORKING BREAK |
| 10:25 – 10:45 AM | Plenary Session: Optimizing SAF: Technology and Economics — More Options = More Decisions Andrew Palermo, Honeywell Technologies |
| 10:45 – 11:05 AM | Plenary Session: Why Prairie? How Restoring Native Grasslands Creates Value for Agriculture, Renewable Natural Gas, and Rural Communities Rudi Roeslein, Roeslein Renewables |
| 11:05 – 11:25 AM | Plenary Session: A Structural-Level Framework for Modeling Biocrude Upgrading: From Feed Composition to Reaction Pathways Anton Alvarez-Majmutov, Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) |
| 11:25 – 11:45 AM | Plenary Session: SynSel Plans for a Wood to Fuel Plant in Wisconsin Darrell Thornley, SynSel |
| 11:45 AM – 12:05 PM | Plenary Session: Catalytic Biographite Production and Techno-Economic Evaluation for Lithium-ion Battery Applications Sunkyu Park, North Carolina State University (NCSU) |
| 12:05 – 12:25 PM | Plenary Session: Low-Temperature Catalytic Pyrolysis of Biomass for Sustainable Biofuel Production Using PyroFriction™ Technology Marek Klaptocz, Ekotrend Biofuels |
| 12:25 – 2:00 PM | Lunch and Poster Session 1 |
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| CONVERSION I (PYROLYSIS, GASIFICATION, HTL) | INTEGRATED BIOREFINERIES / PROCESS INTEGRATION AND INTENSIFICATION |
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| 2:00 – 2:20 PM | Modification of Zeolite Catalysts to Boost Bio-oil Yield in Biomass Catalytic Pyrolysis Cody Wells-Wrasman, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) | Flexible Plant Design and Fabrication for Variable Feedstocks and Feed Systems Kaitlyn Doubrough, Zeton |
| 2:20 – 2:40 PM | Breaking the Dry Biomass Barrier: Extending Autothermal Pyrolysis to High-Moisture and Contaminated Waste Feedstocks Tannon Daugaard, Iowa State University (ISU) | Modular Cost-Effective Upgrading of Biogas to Liquid Hydrocarbons via Chemical Looping Alon Lidor, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) |
| 2:40 – 3:00 PM | Frontline BioEnergy’s TarFreeGas® Technology for Gasification of Biomass Jerod Smeenk, Frontline | Converting Regional Waste Streams: Biomass and MSW Blending Strategies for Bioenergy Applications Tiasha Bhattacharjee, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) |
| 3:00 – 3:20 PM | Impact of Feedstock Preprocessing on Biocrude Yield Melinda Barron, RTI International | Decarbonizing Ammonia Production via Biomass-based Chemical Looping Integrated Ammonia Synthesis Shekhar Shinde, Ohio State University (OSU) |
| 3:20 – 3:40 PM | NETWORKING BREAK | |
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| OTHER FUELS (rLPG, RNG, H₂) | ANALYSIS (MODELING) | |
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| 3:40 – 4:00 PM | Ethanol to bio-LPG and green aromatics using modified ZSM 5 Miguel Angel Sanchez Garcia, Futuria Fuels | Effects of U.S. Federal Policy Changes on Biofuels Production Anurag Mandalika, Louisiana State University (LSU) | |
| 4:00 – 4:20 PM | Biofuels in Heating Applications Tom Butcher, Noraweb | Life Cycle Assessment of GTI Cool-GTLSM Fuels Production Robert Handler, Michigan Technological University (MTU) | |
| 4:20 – 4:40 PM | CO2 Upgrading to Single Cell Protein: A Comparative Assessment of Conventional Fermentation and Emerging Pathways Alexandra Jean, Iowa State University (ISU) | Optimal Pathways from Alternative Carbon Feedstocks to Organic Commodity Chemicals Taylor Uekert, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) | |
| 4:40 – 5:00 PM | Contribution to the Study of the Catalytic Process for the Conversion of Bioethanol to α-Olefins (C15–C18) and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and/or Green Diesel Ricardo Soares, Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) | Sustainable Agro-Residue Thermochemical Pathways for Decentralized Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Integrated TEA–LCA of Pyrolysis, Gasification, CHP, and Briquetting Systems TBD | |
| 5:00 – 6:40 PM | Poster Session 2 | ||
Day 2: Wednesday, August 26, 2026 (U.S. Mountain Time Zone) (subject to change)
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| 8:00 – 6:00 PM | Registration and Information Desk |
| 7:00 – 8:00 AM | Breakfast and Networking |
| 8:00 – 8:05 AM | Chair Remarks |
| 8:05 – 8:25 AM | Don Klass Award Ceremony |
| 8:25 – 8:50 AM | Don Klass Award Winner: Dr. Jennifer Holmgren - Future of the Bioeconomy |
| 8:50 – 9:15 AM | Keynote Presentation: SAF Today and Tomorrow: Perspectives from a Technology Licensor Jostein Gabrielsen, Topsoe |
| 9:15 – 9:35 AM | Plenary Session: The Unexamined Life of Pyrolysis Robert C. Brown, Iowa State University |
| 9:35 – 9:55 AM | Plenary Session: DOE's Strategic Realignment: Thermochemical Pathways to Energy Independence and Affordable Bio-Based Products Ben Simon, Department of Energy (DOE) |
| 9:55 – 10:25 AM | Panel Discussion: AI/ML in the Bioeconomy |
| 10:25 – 10:45 AM | NETWORKING BREAK |
| 10:45 – 11:05 AM | Plenary Session Four-Year Experience in Co-Processing Fast Pyrolysis Bio-Oil in an Industrial Fluid Catalytic Cracker Olov Öhrman, VAROPreem |
| 11:05 – 11:25 AM | Plenary Session RNG Development in the Netherlands Berend Vreugdenhil, TNO Netherlands |
| 11:25 – 11:45 AM | Plenary Session IH2® and the Electric Reformer - A Perfect Match Terry Marker, GTI Energy |
| 11:45 AM – 12:05 PM | Plenary Session Chemical Concrete Additives from Biofuel Byproduct Streams Michael Griffin, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) |
| 12:05 – 1:30 PM | Lunch/Poster Session 3 |
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| CONVERSION II | UPGRADING OF BIO-INTERMEDIATES I |
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| 1:30 – 1:50 PM | From Bio-Oil to Refinery-Ready Biocrude: A Practical Path to Refinery Integration Jayant Khambekar, Jenicke | From Bio-Oil to Refinery-Ready Biocrude: Advancing a Practical Path for FCC Co-Processing Derek Vardon, Alder Renewables |
| 1:50 – 2:10 PM | Reaction Kinetics and Transformation of Macromolecules during Wet Air Oxidation of Aqueous Products from Sewage Sludge Hydrothermal Liquefaction Min Soo Kim, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) | Cohydrotreatment of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters and Pyrolysis Oil Distillates Charles Mullen, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) |
| 2:10 – 2:30 PM | Pressurized Oxidative Pyrolysis: A Low-Temperature, Autothermal Regime for Intensified Biomass Conversion Robert Johnson, University of Hawaii | Promoting Effect of Mn and K on Fe/Nb2O5 Catalyst in the Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Ricardo Soares, Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) |
| 2:30 – 2:50 PM | Chemocatalytic Upcycling of Post-consumer Paper Sludge via Ex-situ Catalytic Pyrolysis Songbo He, DICP | Biobased Graphene and Graphite Synthesis from Fast Pyrolysis Oils Yaseen Elkasabi, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) |
| 2:50 – 3:10 PM | NETWORKING BREAK | |
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| CONVERSION III | UPGRADING OF BIO-INTERMEDIATES II |
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| 3:10 – 3:30 PM | Tar Formation and Mitigation in Pressurized Biomass and Cofired Gasification Joshua Strege, Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) | Catalytic Upgrading of Hydrothermal Liquefaction Derived Biocrudes and Aqueous Phase Products Huamin Wang, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) |
| 3:30 – 3:50 PM | Catalyst Support Effects on Tar Reforming for the Production of Renewable Natural Gas and Hydrogen Reinhard Seiser, University of California San Diego (UCSD) | Impact of Feedstock on CFP Biocrude Stability for Upgrading Anne Starace , National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) |
| 3:50 – 4:10 PM | Chemical Recycling of Shredder Residues: Operational Performance and Evaluation of Steam Gasification and Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis in Demonstration Scale Miriam Huber, Boku University | A Predictive Framework for Thermal Instability in Pyrolysis Oils Enabling Reliable Refinery Integration Earl Christensen, Alder Renewables |
| 4:10 – 4:30 PM | Conversion of Plastic Waste-based Pyrolysis Oil Under Entrained Flow Gasification Conditions Sabine Fleck, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) | Effects of Nitrogen Compounds on Hydrodeoxygenation of Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis Bio‑oils Ole Hauge Jensen, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) |
| 4:30 PM | Transport & NLR Lab Tours | |
Day 3: Thursday, August 27, 2026 (U.S. Mountain Time Zone) (subject to change)
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| 7:30 – 9:00 AM | Breakfast |
| 9:00 – 9:15 AM | Opening Remarks/Student Poster Challenge Award |
| 9:15 – 9:45 AM | Keynote Presentation: Waste Is a Failure of Imagination: Building Value from Every Carbon Molecule Zara Summers, LanzaTech |
| 9:45 – 10:05 AM | Integrating Renewable Carbon into Refining Assets: Pilot‑Scale Insights into Carbon Fate During Biomass Pyrolysis Oil Upgrading Lucas Dorazio, BASF |
| 10:05 – 10:25 AM | Refinery Co-Processing of Biogenic Feedstocks: tracking bio-carbon Robert Baldwin, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) |
| 10:25 – 10:50 AM | NETWORKING BREAK |
| Topical Plenary Session: Liquid Transportation Fuels I (SAF and Marine) | |
| 10:50 – 11:10 AM | Conversion of Biomass to Transportation Fuels via In-situ Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis Reinhard Seiser, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) |
| 11:10 – 11:30 AM | Accelerating Catalyst Development for Wet Waste to Aromatic Aviation Fuels using Active Learning Cody Wells-Wrasman, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) |
| 11:30 – 11:50 AM | Upgrading Bio‑Derived Aromatics via Hydroalkylation to Bicycloalkane‑Rich Jet Blendstocks Nickolas Riedel, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) |
| 11:50 AM – 1:20 PM | Lunch |
| Topical Plenary Session: Featured Topics | |
| 1:20 – 1:40 PM | Advanced Analytical Methods to Support Biofuels Technology Development David C. Dayton, RTI International |
| 1:40 – 2:00 PM | Techno-economic, Feasibility, and Life Cycle Analysis of Renewable Propane TBA, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) |
| 2:00 – 2:20 PM | Highly Efficient Pathway to Sustainable Aviation Fuel Berend Vreugdenhil, TNO Netherlands |
| 2:20 – 2:40 PM | Densification–Torrefaction–Pulverization Improves Biomass Feedstock Properties for Entrained-Flow Gasification Nepu Saha, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) |
| 2:40 – 3:00 PM | Energy-efficient Production of Battery-grade Graphite from Bio-oil Carrie Farberow, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) |
| 3:00 PM | WRAP UP Pedro Ortiz-Toral, GTI Energy |
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