MSU biofuels research fills need for new sources July 28, 2006 — By Carol Flaherty The words are becoming familiar, even if the products aren’t: biofuel, biobased, biodiesel, bioethanol. All refer to fuel that’s made from bio-produced materials such as plants. Chengci Chen (pronounced Chen-see Chen), an assistant professor of cropping systems at …

So researchers are looking for new sources for ethanol. Since the jury is still out on what combination of sources will be best to replace petrol, Chen is working with sources that will be more universally available — especially in Montana. Chen is working on the issue from two directions. First, he is looking at how to maximize the volume of Montana crops or their residues with less input. At the same time, he is looking for the most efficient enzyme to break down the biomass into sugars and also looking at microorganisms that can ferment the sugars into fuel. Daniel Kammen, director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab at the University of California at Berkeley, said in a recent email that rapid technological advances in the production of such cellulosic ethanol are contributing to its tremendous potential as an easy-to-use fuel in conventional vehicles. How best to bring that tremendous potential to Montana is just what Chen and his collaborators are researching. “If we use grass and straw, you can find the stock everywhere,” Chen said. “It is widely available in many regions of the country, rather than being limited to the Corn Belt, and it has the potential to have higher production in Montana.” The United States is facing increasing energy challenges. President Bush’s proposal for additional clean-energy research in his State of the Union Address acknowledged the need for extensive research in biofuel, and the U.S. Department of Energy announced this month an ambitious research agenda for developing cellulosic ethanol. The Department of Energy called it in a news release “a renewable, cleaner-burning, and carbon-neutral alternative to gasoline” and “an economically viable transportation fuel.”

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