Put a tree in your tank

Fuel from fiber -- pretreatment can put corn stalks, trees in your car's tank
BOSTON -- "Put a tree in your tank." Fuel companies aren't touting that slogan. At least not yet.

But thanks to research done in part by Bruce Dale, Michigan State University professor of chemical engineering and materials science, making fuels from poplar trees and corn stalks is becoming more efficient and cost-effective.

Dale is internationally known for his 30 years of research on making ethanol from plant biomass – the stems, leaves, stalks and trunks of plants and trees usually discarded as waste after a crop is harvested. He's developed a patented pretreatment process for biomass, ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX), which makes the breakdown of cellulose – the most difficult part of making ethanol from plant biomass – more efficient.

Dale and other members of the Biomass Refining Consortium for Applied Fundamentals and Innovation will discuss AFEX and other biomass pretreatment technologies during a presentation today at BIO2007, the annual international convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. The consortium is a group of scientists studying biomass refining.

"In time, we can expect to completely replace gasoline and diesel with cellulose-derived biofuels that are cheaper, better for the environment and much better for national security than petroleum-derived fuels," Dale said. ###

Contact: Bruce Dale bdale@egr.msu.edu 517-896-7264 Michigan State University, Contact: Jamie DePolo, Office of Biobased Technologies: (609) 354-8403, cell phone, depolo@msu.edu

This research is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Resources Canada and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station at MSU.

Technorati Tags: ethanol production and biofuels or corn-based ethanol and Bioenergy Biomass or Twenty in Ten Initiative and Chemical Engineering or Samuel W. Bodman and cellulosic ethanol or Energy Efficiency and Department of Energy or cellulose in corn and Michigan State University

Creating corn for cars

BOSTON -- A new variety of corn developed and patented by Michigan State University scientists could turn corn leaves and stalks into products that are just as valuable as the golden kernels. Right now, most U.S. ethanol is made from corn kernels. This is because breaking down the cellulose in corn leaves and stalks into sugars that can be fermented into ethanol is difficult and expensive.

"We've developed two generations of Spartan Corn," said Mariam Sticklen, MSU professor of crop and soil sciences. "Both corn varieties contain the enzymes necessary to break down cellulose and hemicellulose into simple sugars in their leaves. This will allow for more cost-effective, efficient production of ethanol."

Sticklen will co-chair a panel on energy crops for biofuels today at BIO2007, the annual international convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

"In the future, corn growers will be able to sell their corn stalks and leaves as well as their corn grain for ethanol production," Sticklen said. "What is now a waste product will become an economically viable commodity." ###

Contact: Mariam Sticklen stickle1@msu.edu 517-230-2929 Michigan State University, Contact: Jamie DePolo, Office of Biobased Technologies: (609) 354-8403 (cell phone), depolo@msu.edu

This research is supported by Edenspace Systems Corp., the U.S. Department of Energy, the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research, the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan and the MSU Research Excellence Program.

(Editor’s note: Mariam Sticklen can be reached May 6-9 at BIO2007 on her cell phone at (517) 230-2929. Jamie DePolo can be reached on her cell phone at (609) 354-8403.)

Technorati Tags: ethanol production and biofuels or corn-based ethanol and Bioenergy Biomass or Twenty in Ten Initiative and Chemical Engineering or Samuel W. Bodman and cellulosic ethanol or Energy Efficiency and Department of Energy or cellulose in corn and Michigan State University