Biomass Research Gets $25 Million From Doe, Usda
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) have selected projects that will receive $25,480,628 for the Biomass Research and Development Initiative. Including the cost sharing of the private sector partners, the total value of the projects is nearly $38 million. The funds will be used for biomass research, development and demonstration projects.
The joint grant program is targeted to increasing America’s energy independence through the development of additional renewable energy resources from the agricultural and agroforestry sectors.
Increased demand for production and processing of biomass will support traditional US commodities such as corn, as well as create new cash crops for America’s farmers and foresters. A new bioindustry will also encourage better use of agricultural and forestry residues, such as woody biomass. Furthermore, new processing facilities resulting from this increased demand will help stimulate rural communities and economies.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy coordinated efforts to issue a joint solicitation that is awarding over $13 million in USDA funding and over $12 million from DOE appropriations.
More than 400 applications, divided into eight unique technical topic areas, were submitted in response to the solicitation. The selection process involved multiple reviewers from each agency. Following is a list of the 22 selected projects and the dollar amount funded.
Department of Energy Projects:
Southern Research Institute (Birmingham Ala. -Trace-Metal Scavenging from Biomass Syngas with Novel High-Temperature Sorbents – $769,376
Research Triangle Institute (Research Triangle Park, N.C.) – Biomass Gas Cleanup Using a Therminator – $2,000,000
Gas Technology Institute (Des Plaines, Ill.) – Engineering New Catalysts for In-Process Elimination of Tars – $1,995,932
Bioengineering Resources Inc. (Fayetteville, Ark.) – Thermochemical Conversion of Corn Stover – $1,989,365
Antares Group Inc. (Landover, Md.) Catalytic Hydrothermal Gasification for Eastman Kingsport Chemical Production – $1,142,925
Weyerhaeuser Company (Vanceboro, N.C.) – Advancement of High Temperature Black Liquor Gasification Technology – $1,078,080
Princeton University (Princeton, N. J.) – Cost-Benefit Analysis of Gasification for Fuels/Chemicals Production at Kraft Pulp Mills – $552,620
University of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah) Investigation of Pressurized Entrained Flow Draft Black Liquor Gasification in an industrially Relevant Environment – $779,069
Rohm and Haas Co. (Spring House, Pa.) – New Sustainable Chemistry for Adhesives, Elastomers and Foams – $2,000,000
Department of Agriculture projects:
University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.) – Integrated Size Reduction and Separation to Pre-Fractionate Biomass – $717,399
Imperial Young Farmers & Ranch (Imperial, Neb.) – Biomass Opportunity for Imperial Nebraska Region: What is the Value? – $2,000,000
Iowa State University (Ames Iowa) – Integrated Feedstock Supply Systems for Corn Stover Biomass – $1,999,724
Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.) – BioSep: A New Ethanol Recovery Technology for Small-Scale rural Production of Ethanol from Biomass – $1,032,045
Mississippi State University, Forest Products Department (Starkville, Miss.) – Development of a Wood Preservation System from Wood BioOil Fractions – $1,409, 010
Technology Management, Inc. (Cleveland, Ohio) -Fuel Cell Systems Operating on 100 percent Bio-Liquid Fuels – $965,161
Watershed Research and Training Center (Hayfork, Calif.) – Hayfork Biomass Utilization and Value Added Model for Rural Development – $503,400
USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station – (Asheville, N.C.) – Technology Transfer and Education Programs for the Southern US – $1,000,00
Southern Forest Research Partnership, Inc. (Athens, Ga.) – Sustainable Forestry for Bioenergy and Biobased Products – $1,000,000
University of Minnesota (Brainerd, Minn.) – Development of Existing Biomass Resources through Education of Key Supply Bottlenecks – $397,711
Electric Power Research Institute (Palo Alto, Calif.) – Small- scale, Biomass Fired Gas Turbine Plants Suitable for Distributed and Mobil Power Generation – $241,933
North Carolina State University (Raleigh, N.C.) – Development of Workable Incentive Systems for Biobased Products, Biofuels and Biopower – $450,000
New Energy Solutions, Inc. (Pittsfield, Mass.) – Design and Demonstration of a Commercial Prototype for Onsite Production of High Purity Hydrogen from Farm Animal Wastes – $1,456,931
