The Department of Energy has given a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory team up to $3.1 million to research the development of biofuels that would power the sort of car you likely have parked in your driveway.
The competitive grant was part of $16.5 million awarded nationwide Wednesday to support the expansion of renewable transportation fuels production.
The research that will be done with the money at the Department of Energy lab in Richland is ground-breaking and has the potential to significantly improve the ability of homegrown biofuels to replace foreign oil, said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., in a statement.
"Developing cost-effective renewable transportation fuels is a key component of DOE's strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move the nation toward energy independence," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a statement.
PNNL will use a thermochemical process known as pyrolysis, which breaks down biomass using heat in the absence of oxygen to produce an oil and charcoal. Researchers then will process the oil with catalysts to convert it into a fuel.
The goal is to produce fuels that are interchangeable with gasoline, diesel or jet fuels produced from petroleum to allow the fuel to be used in existing vehicles and pumped at existing places like commercial gas stations.
For the three-year project PNNL will work with Albemarle Corp. and UOP, a Honeywell company, to develop better processes to upgrade the oil to hydrocarbon fuels and make the conversion process commercially viable. PNNL's work is expected to cost about $1.7 million.
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Tri-Cities research may help biofuels take flight
Tri-Cities research may help biofuels take flight
If you stop and think about it, some pretty interesting people and stuff have roots in the Tri-Cities.
Many Tri-Citians have gone on to be professional athletes, entertainers, scientists and engineers, doctors, lawyers and humanitarians, to name just a few.
And a lot of ground-breaking discoveries -- many born of strategic collaborations resulting from purposeful economic development efforts -- have emerged from work at our local national laboratory.
Biofuel grant will create jobs in Boardman
Biofuel grant will create jobs in Boardman
The state's two large universities will lead efforts to develop biofuels and regional renewable-energy markets under $80 million grants that are among the largest ever awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency announced Wednesday.
The grants include a $12 million subgrant for demonstration trials for production of bio-based jet and diesel fuels and bio-based gasoline at ZeaChem's plant under construction at the Port of Morrow near Boardman, about 50 miles south of Kennewick.
The grants allow Washington State University and the University of Washington to lead research into the conversion of Northwest wood and forest residues into biofuels.
Boardman biorefinery gets USDA loan guarantee (w/ gallery)
Boardman biorefinery gets USDA loan guarantee (w/ gallery)
BOARDMAN, Ore. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave ZeaChem its conditional commitment Thursday for a $232.5 million loan guarantee to build a full-scale biorefinery in Boardman.
ZeaChem just opened the core facility of a demonstration biorefinery this month in Boardman to prove its technology performance and generate data for the operation of the full-scale biorefinery, a condition of the loan guarantee.
"This commitment allows us to move forward with securing financing, beginning construction, creating jobs in the community and producing economical and sustainable products for the fuel and chemical industries," said Jim Imbler, president of ZeaChem.
FACT CHECK: Obama, GOP spin recent energy stats
FACT CHECK: Obama, GOP spin recent energy stats
You wouldn't know it from the Republicans, but these are boom times for American energy.
EDUCATION: WSU Tri-Cities professor wins $300K research award
EDUCATION: WSU Tri-Cities professor wins $300K research award
RICHLAND — Bin Yang, an assistant professor with the Department of Biological Systems Engineering and the Center for Bioproducts & Bioenergy at Washington State University Tri-Cities, is one of only 39 young scientists selected from 407 applicants from across the nation to receive this year’s prestigious Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award.
The school announced the award today in a news release. The award will provide him $300,000 for his research into the co-production of ethanol and jet fuel from biomass sources.
Yang has spent most of his career in the development of renewable energy technologies with an emphasis on production of ethanol, drop-in replacement biofuel and other commodity products from cellulosic biomass.
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