Dr. Carol Sze Ki Lin

Dr. Carol Sze Ki Lin

City University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Dr. Carol Lin graduated in Chemical and Materials Engineering from the University of Auckland, New Zealand with a 1st class honours degree. Her PhD was carried out within the Satake Centre for Grain Process Engineering (SCGPE) in the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science at the University of Manchester, England. In collaboration with the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York, her research focused on novel wheat-based biorefining strategies for the production of succinic acid. Her current research interests focus on the valorization of food waste through conversion into commercially valuable products such as the production of biofuels, bio-degradable polymer and specialty chemicals. Dr. Lin is also editorial board member of several biotechnology and energy related journals. She has published over 45 papers with several scientific manuscripts in top impact factor journals including Chemical Society Reviews, Energy and Environmental Sciences; editor of 1 book and co-authored 6 book chapters. She gave around 60 oral presentations including 3 keynote and 2 plenary talk in Belgium, China, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Netherlands, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, the UK and USA.

The term food co-product encompasses raw, processed (mainly cooked), spoil and excess food materials that are disposed of before or during food preparation. In Hong Kong, the amount of food co-product discarded is significant, for example, the food co-product from households, restaurants and the food industry accounts for 40% of municipal solid wastes in Hong Kong. The social, economic and environmental impact of food co-product disposal is enormous. Therefore, there is an imminent need to reduce the quantity of food co-product disposal to landfills. At the same time, the development of effective food waste conversion process/technology aiming at waste processing at the source is desired. Dr. Lin’s research targets the valorization of food co-products through conversion into commercially valuable products with current and/or future markets, such as the production of bio-degradable polymer and specialty chemicals.