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USDA, DOE to Invest Up to $18.4M for Biomass Research, Development and Demonstration Projects; Biofuels, Chemicals, Heat and Power
4 March 2008
The US Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) will invest up to $18.4 million, over three years, for 21 biomass research and development (R&D), and demonstration projects. These projects specifically aim to address critical barriers to making the use of biomass in biofuel and chemicals production and heat and power generation more efficient and cost-effective.
Funding for these projects will be provided through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, a joint USDA-DOE effort established in 2000 to develop the next generation of bio-based technologies.
Grant recipients are required to raise a minimum of 20% matching funds for R&D projects, and 50% matching funds for demonstration projects. Of the $18,449,089 announced today, USDA will provide up to $13,225,554, and DOE will provide up to $5,223,535 (Fiscal Years 2007-2009). Grants are subject to negotiation and will begin immediately, and funding is subject to appropriations from Congress.
| Grant Recipients | ||
|---|---|---|
| Entity | Grant $ | Purpose |
| Research & Development Projects | ||
| Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (NJ) | up to $971,799 | To develop a US native grass breeding consortium to identify regional optimum biomass productivity on marginal lands and switchgrass performance in specific US regions. |
| Agrivida, Inc. (MA) | up to $982,589 | To study altered plant compositions for improved biofuel production. This will include analysis of rice straw, sorghum, and switchgrass performance in specific US regions. |
| University of Florida (FL) | up to $866,576 | To address genetic engineering of sugarcane for increased fermentable sugar yield from hemicellulosic biomass in Florida. |
| Ceres, Inc. (CA) | up to $839,909 | To identify and characterize plant genes involved in biosynthesis and deposition of cellulose and hemicellulose in plant cell walls, with a focus on switchgrass throughout the US. |
| Ceres, Inc. (CA) | up to $883,290 | To evaluate herbacious and woody crops for use in thermochemical processing, specifically examining willow and switchgrass species grown throughout a wide range of geographies in the US |
| Regents of the University of Colorado (CO) | up to $1,000,000 | To develop rapid solar-thermal chemical reactor systems for conversion of biomass to synthesis gas. |
| North Carolina State University (NC) | up to $999,889 | To develop advanced technology for low-cost ethanol from engineered cellulosic biomass. |
| Regents of the University of Minnesota (MN) | up to $975,676 | To develop a microwave-assisted pyrolysis system for conversion of cellulosic biomass to bio-oils. |
| Regents of the University of Minnesota (MN) | up to $715,340 | To develop pathways to achieving US bioenergy policy goals, develop economic costs and environmental impacts, and identify potential technological bottlenecks. |
| Regents of the University of Minnesota (MN) | up to $576,368 | To research and analyze lignin as a facilitator during saccharification by brown rot fungi. |
| University of Kentucky Research Foundation (KY) | up to $999,964 | To develop advanced ceramic materials for the separation and recovery of high-value pentose derivatives from cellulosic biomass using molecular imprinting. |
| Battelle Memorial Institute, on behalf of DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (WA) | up to $1,000,000 | To address catalytic conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals using ionic liquids. |
| Packer Engineering (IL) | up to $1,000,000 | To research and develop on-farm conversion of biomass to synthetic gas, combined heat and electric power, and fertilizer. |
| Kansas State University (KS) | up to $690,000 | To demonstrate pelletizing forage crops and perennial grasses in the field to increase cellulosic ethanol production. |
| The University of Akron (OH) | up to $743,904 | To research and develop supercritical methods for biorefinery of rubber-bearing guayule biomass. |
| Purdue University (IN) | up to $1,000,000 | To develop a low-cost, high-yield process for direct production of high energy density liquid fuel from biomass. Synergistic use of solar hydrogen with biomass will be explored. |
| Iowa State University (IA) | up to $944,899 | To develop catalytic production of ethanol from biomass-derived synthesis gas. |
| Cornell University (NY) | up to $998,943 | To develop more effective enzymatic conversion processes through nano-scale elucidation of molecular mechanisms and kinetic modeling. |
| GE Global Research (NY) | up to $820,035 | To integrate biomass gasification with catalytic partial oxidation for tar conversion. |
| Demonstration Projects | ||
|---|---|---|
| Texas Engineering Experimental Station (TX) | up to $600,000 | To provide a demonstration of commercial feasibility of anaerobic fermentation of biomass for the production of carboxylate salts and their conversion to keytones. |
| Washington State University (WA) | up to $839,909 | To provide product diversification strategies for a new generation of biofuels and bio-products. |
March 4, 2008 in Biomass, Fuels | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Posted by: sjc | March 04, 2008 at 09:31 AM
Nothing explicit in any of these projects on the production of pipeline-grade biomethane by large farms or co-ops of smaller ones, nor on feeding it into the existing NG distribution network, nor on promoting methane as a renewable alternative to liquid fuels.
Cellulosic ethanol, algal oil etc. are all next-gen technologies. Biomethane from cellulose is viable today, the issue is one of connecting producers to consumers.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/analysis_publications/ngpipeline/ngpipelines_map.html
Posted by: Rafael Seidl | March 04, 2008 at 11:05 AM
From what I hear, the bio refinery guys are out making contracts with farmers for the biomass. It has been rumored that in some cases they are buying the farm, literally not figuratively. Cellulose bio fuels will be big, very big. Once the wholesale price of natural gas goes well above $1 per therm and stays there, we could see methane made and piped on a large scale.
Posted by: sjc | March 04, 2008 at 02:52 PM
From what I hear, the bio refinery guys are ... buying the farm, literally not figuratively.This is what I was afraid of. Once that fuel supply is locked up by the liquid-fuel lobby, scarcity is guaranteed and carbon sequestration goes out the window.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | March 05, 2008 at 09:17 PM
One thing forgotten in this rush to cellulose based fuel is that biomass is the only mass method we are now using to capture and sequester CO2.
It is an improvement on fossil fuels, but not our whole answer.
Posted by: John Taylor | March 05, 2008 at 09:24 PM
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This is not a lot of money, but every bit helps. With so many working on it, there may be a better chance of some good information coming from every dollar.