Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Part of $500 Million Grant

Published Jun 24, 2008

BP announced last year that it would fund the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI). The energy company chose the proposal put forth by the University of Illinois, the University of California at Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory over 52 other institutions because these organizations have a history of delivering "Big Science" according to BP Chief Executive John Browne. The three organizations will receive a total of $50 million every year over the year over the next ten years. This will fund basic and applied biofuels research including development and cultivation of biofuel feedstock, harvesting, transportation, processing, and ultimately, the delivery of advance biofuels.

EBI is charged with exploting how an adequate supply of high quality plant biomass can be sustainably produced and utilized in facilities that convert biomass to fuels. Along with feedstock development, EBI researchers will investigate biomass depolymerization, fossil fuel bioprocessing & carbon sequestration, socio-economic systems, and biofuels production. BP has indicated that EBI should pay particular attention to the economic and environmental impact of each process developed or investigated.

Previous research at Illinois on potential biofuel feedstock has shown that Miscanthus, a species of tall grass, can reach 3 meters in height in very densely packed fields and yields over 11 tons/acre on average. As part of this program, 340 acres of farmland at UIUC will be set aside for the study and production of Miscanthus. In addition to feedstock development, other Illinois researchers will be working on the socio-economic impacts of biofuels.

The Department is a component of one of eighteen programs to receive funding through this grant. Professor and Department Head K.C. Ting along with Profs. Alan Hansen, Qin Zhang, Tony Grift, Lei Tian, Steve Eckhoff, and Luis Rodriguez are collaborators on the project. The funding provided will allow EBI to hire seven post-doctoral reseach associates; some have already been hired. The program aims to develop effective and effcient engineering solutions and machinery for the successful production of biomass feedstock while keeping in mind its external interactions and influencing factors, such as social/economic considerations, environmental impact, and policy/ regulatory issues. These primary aims will be accomplished through five interrelated tasks: Pre-harvest Crop Production; Harvesting; Transportation; Storage; and Systems Informatics and Analysis. The research team will develop prototypes, computer models and simulations, and ultimately operational machinery design prototypes.

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