The fundamental objective of the "Biofuels Laboratory" course is to provide students with the knowledge and technical and practical skills in the field of biofuel production and the characterization of processes / raw materials according to standard procedures that can be implemented in a laboratory environment. The expected learning outcomes are the knowledge of the criteria and procedures for characterizing biomass and raw materials necessary for the production of biofuels, liquid and gaseous, having the opportunity to interface and assimilate the procedures, the operating principles of the equipment (through direct use at the laboratory) and the technical standards to be respected when experimenting in a biofuel laboratory but also generic, such as the design of experiments (DOE). To these are added the theoretical and practical notions associated with the regulations and incentives currently available to promote the use of biofuels and biofuels, with particular attention paid to the issue of residual biomass and their exploitation. During the course, purely applicative issues relating to multi-physics simulation software will also be addressed, useful for solving complex and multidisciplinary problems in the industrial sector. In addition, the practical tools typically required in the context of control, monitoring and data acquisition for the experimental plants and pilot plants available in the laboratory will be discussed.
Therefore, the expected learning outcomes include the knowledge and development of a critical sense in terms of the ability to identify the parameters associated with the operation of the equipment and systems associated with the production of biofuels, thus developing awareness and mastery of the technical terminology used in the biofuel production sector, in relation to technologies, processes and procedures to be implemented in the laboratory. At the end of the course, the student will have practical and theoretical notions relating to the main types of processes, technologies and plants through which liquid and gaseous biofuels are produced, strengthening the skills already developed in the three-year degree course and having the ability to solve problems related to themes, even new ones or requiring multidisciplinary approaches, in any case deriving from the sector under study. At the end of the course, the student will be able to communicate their conclusions clearly and unambiguously to specialist and non-specialist interlocutors operating in the biofuels sector, having also had the opportunity to interface with the laboratory environment. In addition, the expected results include the student's development of a learning ability that allows him to deepen the issues addressed independently, adapting to the needs he will encounter in the workplace.