. Energy News .




.
BIO FUEL
Iowa State researchers produce cheap sugars for sustainable biofuel production
by Staff Writers
Ames IA (SPX) Sep 30, 2011

Iowa State researchers have developed thermochemical technologies that efficiently produce sugars from biomass. Lead researcher Robert C. Brown calls the sugars "pyrolytic molasses." Credit: Naomi Friend/Iowa State Bioeconomy Institute photo.

Iowa State University's Robert C. Brown keeps a small vial of brown, sweet-smelling liquid on his office table.

"It looks like something you could pour on your pancakes," he said. "In many respects, it is similar to molasses."

Brown, in fact, calls it "pyrolytic molasses."

That's because it was produced by the fast pyrolysis of biomass such as corn stalks or wood chips. Fast pyrolysis involves quickly heating the biomass without oxygen to produce liquid or gas products.

"We think this is a new way to make inexpensive sugars from biomass," said Brown, an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering, the Gary and Donna Hoover Chair in Mechanical Engineering and the Iowa Farm Bureau Director of Iowa State's Bioeconomy Institute.

That's a big deal because those sugars can be further processed into biofuels. Brown and other Iowa State researchers believe pyrolysis of lignocelluslosic biomass has the potential to be the cheapest way to produce biofuels or biorenewable chemicals.

Brown and Iowa State researchers will present their ideas and findings during tcbiomass2011, the International Conference on Thermochemical Conversion Science in Chicago Sept. 28-30. On Thursday, Sept, 29, Brown will address the conference with a plenary talk describing how large amounts of sugars can be produced from biomass by a simple pretreatment before pyrolysis. He'll also explain how these sugars can be economically recovered from the products of pyrolysis.

A poster session following Brown's talk will highlight thermochemical technologies developed by 19 Iowa State research teams, including processes that:

+ increase the yield of sugar from fast pyrolysis of biomass with a pretreatment that neutralizes naturally occurring alkali that otherwise interferes with the release of sugars

+ prevent burning of sugar released during pyrolysis by rapidly transporting it out of the hot reaction zone

+ recover sugar from the heavy end of bio-oil that has been separated into various fractions

+ separate sugars from the heavy fractions of bio-oil using a simple water-washing process.

Their work has been supported by the eight-year, $22.5 million ConocoPhillips Biofuels Program at Iowa State. The program was launched in April 2007.

Brown said Iowa State will - literally - take a bus load of students and researchers to the Chicago conference to present their work on thermochemical technologies, including production of sugars from biomass.

"The Department of Energy has been working for 35 years to get sugar out of biomass," Brown said. "Most of the focus has been on use of enzymes, which remains extremely expensive. What we've developed is a simpler method based on the heating of biomass."

In addition to Brown, key contributors to the pyrolysis research at Iowa State include Brent Shanks, the Mike and Jean Steffenson Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and director of the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Biorenewable Chemicals based at Iowa State; Christopher Williams, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering; Zhiyou Wen, associate professor of food science and human nutrition; Laura Jarboe, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering; Xianglan Bai, adjunct assistant professor of aerospace engineering; Marjorie Rover and Sunitha Sadula, research scientists at the Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies; Dustin Dalluge, a graduate student in mechanical engineering; and Najeeb Kuzhiyil, a former doctoral student who is now working for GE Transportation in Erie, Penn. Related Links
Iowa State University
Bio Fuel Technology and Application News




 

.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries






. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



BIO FUEL
JBEI identify new advanced biofuel as an alternative to diesel fuel
Berkeley CA (SPX) Sep 29, 2011
Researchers with the U.S Department of Energy (DOE)'s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have identified a potential new advanced biofuel that could replace today's standard fuel for diesel engines but would be clean, green, renewable and produced in the United States. Using the tools of synthetic biology, a JBEI research team engineered strains of two microbes, a bacteria and a yeast, to pr ... read more


BIO FUEL
Cheap and efficient solar cell made possible by linked nanoparticles

Lessons to be Learned from Nature in Photosynthesis

Copper Film Could Lower Touch Screen, LED and Solar Cell Costs

Nature offers key lessons on harvesting solar power

BIO FUEL
BIO FUEL
Natural Power deploys first dual-mode ZephIR wind lidar in India

New energy in search for future wind

Investment blows into India's wind sector

Spain's Gamesa signs deal with Chinese firm

BIO FUEL
France withdraws shale gas permits: minister

Walker's World: War in South China Sea?

Israeli jets 'buzz Turkish drill ship'

Ecuador on track to set up Smart Grid

BIO FUEL
IMF, World Bank eye carbon tax on airline, ship fuels

U.S. Defense aims for clean energy

CO2 storage law falls through in Germany

S.Korea minister blames blackout on weather, reports

BIO FUEL
Paris launches world-first electric car-share scheme

China rejects Fuji Heavy's joint venture plan: report

US auto sales steady in September

Chilean car shines in solar auto competition

BIO FUEL
Young Indonesians paint the town green

Chinese engineer, global activists get 'alternative Nobels'

Potatoes largest and most affordable source of potassium of any vegetable or fruit

A Labor Saving Way to Monitor Vast Rangelands

BIO FUEL
China cracks down on fake iPhones: report

Apple chief Cook to debut hot new iPhone

Chemistry team produces a game-changing catalyst

Scientists and engineers create the 'perfect plastic'


Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News
.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2011 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement