SBDC funds two new seed grants for biomass conversion research (April 2012)

SBDC recently awarded seed grants to fund research led by Principal Investigators Eugene Chen and Gary Maciel.
 
Eugene Chen’s project, “Nanoparticle Catalysts for Biomass Conversion into Platform Chemicals and Biofuels,” seeks to develop novel catalyst systems based on zero-valent metal nanoparticles for highly efficient, homogeneous biomass conversion into platform chemicals such as 5- hydroxymethyl furfural and biofuels such as 2,5-dimethylfuran.  This research holds significance for more efficient and economical methods of biomass conversion.

Gary Maciel’s research aims to establish the feasibility and potential advantages of using supercritical fluids (SCFs) in biomass conversion, especially in the pretreatment step.  Expanding on prior observations from in situ NMR measurements of poplar wood under SCF conditions, this project seeks to investigate the structural and dynamic changes in lignocellulose under SCF treatment and the possibility of using these physical changes for chemical processes, such as carbohydrate hydrolysis.

Bioenergy faculty lead SOGES panel discussion on biofuels (April 2012)

Several of our Bioenergy faculty members served as panelists for the April 18^th “Biofuels: Facts, Fictions, and Forecasts,” panel discussion, sponsored by the School of Global and Environmental Sustainability (SOGES) as part of the “Managing the Planet” series.  The discussion covered a range of issues, including the past, present, and future of biofuel technology and alternative energy in the US and globally. 

The panelists were Ken Reardon, of the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department; Graham Peers, of the Biology Department; Courtney Jahn, of the Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Control Department; and Robert Duffy, of the Political Science Department.  Gene Kelly, SOGES Associate Director of Research & Development and Soil & Crop Sciences Department Chair, moderated the discussion.

From left: Courtney Jahn, Robert Duffy, Graham Peers, and Ken Reardon

Thirteen CSU Bioenergy posters featured at the 2012 Cenergy Expo (April 2012)

CSU bioenergy students and faculty presented their research on 13 of the 22 posters showcased at this year’s Cenergy Expo on April 18th. The Cenergy Expo is an annual university event that attracts over 300 professionals with the goal of promoting connections between CSU faculty/student research and clean energy industry, government, investors, start-ups, non-profits, and the media. The event this year included faculty talks, a poster session, exhibitors, educational activities, and two very exciting keynote speakers: Tom Gendron from Woodward and Dana Christensen from NREL.

From left: Scott Fulbright and Steve Albers

The following posters and presenters represented CSU bioenergy at the Cenergy expo:
 

• "Is 'Green' Diesel Healthy Diesel?" by Brie Hawley, John Volckens, and Anthony Marchese

• "Ultra diluted acid and liquid hot water combined with biological pretreatment for the production of ethanol by enzymic hydrolysis: Application to sugarcane bagasse" by Manuel Nunez, Martha Nunez, Xing Feng, and Ken Reardon

• "Functional Genomics of Structural Variation in Bio-ethanol Producing Yeast Strain" by Theo Gurol, Fabiana Duarte, Aline Rodrigues, and J. Lucas Argueso

• "Development of a Reporter System for Cell Wall Proteins in Lignocellulosic Biomass" by Margaret Fleming and Dr. Pat Bedinger

• "Monitoring Biodiversity in Algae Production Systems" by S.P. Fulbright, H. Shi, X. Zeng, P.J. Lammers, J. Xu, and S.T Chisholm 

• "Optimizing Algae Biofuels: Nitrogen Stress and Artificial Selection as methods to Induce Lipid Synthesis" by Sara Volz

• "Towards biofuel production in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803: Expanding the molecular biology toolbox" by Stevan Albers, Yi Ern Cheah, and Christie Peebles

• "In Situ Study of Dilute H₂SO₄ Pretreatment of 13C-Enriched Poplar Wood as a Function of Temperature, Using 13C NMR" by Benjamin Kohn, Mark Davis, and Gary E. Maciel

• "Identification of candidate genes using rice mutants for biomass engineering in switchgrass" by Bettina Broeckling, Marietta Baroidan, Paul Tanger, Courtney E. Jahn, John K. McKay, Jan E. Leach, Daniel R. Bush, and Hei Leung

• "Investigation of flocculation genes in an industrial yeast strain" by Aline Rodrigues, Osmar V. Carvalho-Netto, Gonalo A. G. Pereira, and J. Lucas Argueso

• "Comparison of Network Structures that confer Robustness and Survivability in microbial metabolism" by Chintan Joshi and Ashok Prasad

• "Optimizing Biofuel Feedstocks: High-Throughput Phenotyping Methods for Investigation of Cell Wall Composition" by P. Tanger, C.E. Jahn, M. Baroidan, A. Bordeos, Ma. Elizabeth B. Naredo, E. J. Wolfrum, K. McNally, H. Leung, D. Bush, J. McKay, and J. E. Leach

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