The qualifying stage of the CASE-IN in the field of Biotechnology was held for the first time in FEFU

The qualifying stage of the International Engineering CASE-IN Championship, which is held with the support of the presidential platform "Russia – the Land of Opportunities", was held at the Far Eastern Federal University. Teams of students from the Polytechnic Institute and the Advanced Engineering School "Institute of Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Food Systems" FEFU competed for entry into the semifinals in the areas of "Biotechnology" and "Oil and gas business". It was the first time that the participants solved the biotechnology tasks on the campus site.

A new competition area for the university attracted the attention of eight student teams at once. Four more teams tried their hand at the "Oil and Gas business".

"CASE-IN is the largest engineering competition among students in Russia. We are particularly pleased that the organizers have drawn attention to such a rapidly developing field as biotechnology, and such a landmark competition has this field in its arsenal. The FEFU Advanced Engineering School is very pleased to act as a platform in this area together with our partner PJSC Tatneft. We wish all the teams good luck, and may the strongest win!" — said the Director of the FEFU Institute of Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Food Systems Advanced Engineering School Lyudmila Tekutyeva.

As part of this case, the participants had to develop a comprehensive technological scheme for the full cycle of processing wood chips and other types of cellulosic biomass into high-value-added products. It was necessary to justify the choice of methods of pretreatment of raw materials (acid, alkaline or enzymatic hydrolysis) in compliance with strict technological restrictions: temperature no higher than 130 ° C, pressure up to 0.2 MPa, processing time up to 3 hours, as well as ensuring a carbohydrate conversion of at least 40%. In addition, the participants had to propose effective use cases for the obtained non-food sugars and lignin, ensuring maximum economic value of the final products, with the preferred localization of production in the Republic of Tatarstan. Tatneft, one of the largest Russian oil companies, became the partner of the direction.

PJSC Yakutsk Fuel and Energy Company (YATEK) has become a partner of the second direction, Oil and Gas Business. As part of the case, the participants were asked to develop a strategy to increase the efficiency of the development of gas fields in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). It was also necessary to present innovative solutions for monetization of gas resources through the organization of data processing centers (data centers). It was important for the participants to develop private technical solutions aimed at leveling the seasonal contrast of gas production. This problem is caused by peak loads with a threefold increase in some months. Seasonal contrast negatively affects the productivity of wells and hinders the development of new fields that are not integrated into Russia's unified gas supply system. Special attention had to be paid to substantiating the feasibility of deploying a data center in the region. The participants had to estimate their energy consumption and calculate economic efficiency. In addition, it was necessary to work out the issue of interfacing data processing centers with the existing gas transportation infrastructure.

The authors of the best solutions advanced to the semi-finals, which will be held in a remote format. The winners of the penultimate stage will go to the finals in Moscow.

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