|
|
| Menu | |
|
|
|
|
| How To | |
|
|
|
|
| Articles Clickable Links Only | |
|
|
|
|
| sdfvsdfvsvsv | |
|
|
| |
Home > News > Green Energy > NREL's Biomass Research Fuels National Energy Dialogue
NREL's Biomass Research Fuels National Energy Dialogue
Posted: March 20th, 2007 @ 2:00pm
Turning plant materials into fuel |
Source: Article by Kristi Theis, posted to the NREL website (January 2007)
In his 2007 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush championed energy alternatives. Among his emphases was the potential of biomass — plant materials — to fulfill a greater share of our nation's transportation fuel needs. The research and analysis provided by NREL and the National Bioenergy Center not only support the President's vision, but have helped to inform it.
In the past year, the NREL Biomass Program and the National Bioenergy Center have delivered congressional testimony describing the potential of biomass, specifically ethanol, to meet the future demands of the transportation fuel market; produced a key ethanol market and technology assessment; and continued to maintain existing and establish new partnerships with industry.
NREL Research Critical to Technology Improvements
Renewable alternatives to imported oil are a national energy priority, and NREL is a leading player in the development of technology for producing fuel ethanol from cellulosic biomass — the fibrous bulk of plant material.
NREL's computational modeling of the function of cellobiohydrolase enzymes revealed unanticipated changes in shape as the enzymes act on biomass. Understanding these changes could be critical to future technology improvement because these enzymes play a key role in breaking cellulose down to sugar to allow fermentation to ethanol.
Color photo of a computer model showing the enzymatic breakdown of fibrous plant material or cellulose.
On January 10, 2007, Dr. Michael Pacheco, Director of the National Bioenergy Center at NREL, delivered invited testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture. Pacheco's testimony established that biomass is the only renewable option for producing liquid transportation fuels. The United States has the ability to yield more than a billion tons of biomass annually for energy needs without negatively affecting our needs for food or fiber.
Pacheco went on to explain that we need to move beyond corn grain as the primary biomass resource. "One of the most abundant potential resources we have is corn stover, the non-food parts of the corn plant, including the stalks, leaves, and husks." He added that forest thinnings, hardy grasses like switch grass, and fast growing trees, are also good sources of biomass.
For the complete article, see http://www.nrel.gov/features/01-07_biomass.html
For more information on alternative transportation fuels, see the Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center.
|
