$23 MILLION AWARDED TO BIOMASS INITIATIVES

BioCycle September 2003, Vol. 44, No. 9, p. 76

Funds to advance programs included in 2002 Farm Bill are allocated to 19 companies and researchers.

ON September 5, 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy announced selection of 19 projects that will receive $23 million for biomass research, development and demonstration projects. Biomass is defined as organic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis. Funds were appropriated in the 2002 Farm Bill.

Following is a list of selected projects and dollar amounts funded:

Metabolix, Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts) - Advanced biorefinery feedstocks - $2,000,000.

Utah State University (Logan, Utah) - Research and demonstration of anaerobic system on a large dairy farm - $761,385.

Earth Resources, Inc. (Carnesville, Georgia) - Animal waste management-chicken litter to energy - $1,136,936.

West Central Cooperative (Ralston, Iowa) - New technologies for production of methyl esters - $1,199,646.

Clemson University (Clemson, South Carolina) - Heterogeneous catalyst development for biodiesel synthesis - $894,203.

New Energy Solutions, Inc. (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) - Design and demonstration of a commercial prototype for onsite production of high purity hydrogen from farm animal wastes - $204,603.

Archer Daniels Midland Company (Quincy, Illinois/Decatur, Indiana) - Biomass research and development for the production of fuels, chemicals, and improved cattle feed - $1,400,000.

GrainValue, LLC (St. Paul, Minnesota) - GrainValue process: Pre-commercialization trials - $1,763,160.

Pennsylvania State University (University Park) - Coupled processes for bioenergy production: biological hydrogen linked with microbial fuel cells - $610,913.

Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa) - Biopolymers and other value-added products from distillers' dried grains - $1,000,000.

Local Energy (Tesuque, New Mexico) - Biomass-fired district energy: a source of economic development and energy security - $1,286,768.

Vermont's Alternative Energy Corporation (Williston, Vermont) - Steps towards a biorefinery industry in Vermont - $746,912.

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (College Station, Texas) - Biomass for tomorrow's energy and greenhouse gas management needs: An economic, engineering and environmental appraisal of opportunities and policies - $716,388.

Sebesta, Blomberg & Associates, Inc. (Roseville, Minnesota) - Biomass cogeneration demonstration plant at central Minnesota ethanol cooperative - $2,000,000.

T.R. Miles Technical Consultants, Inc. (Portland, Oregon) - Feasibility of an integrated system for improving the economic and environmental performance of poultry and ethanol production in North Alabama - $254,274.

Trustees of Dartmouth (Hanover, New Hampshire) - Integration of leading biomass pretreatment technologies with enzymatic digestion and hydrolyzate fermentation - $1,882,866.

University of Florida (Gainesville, Florida) - Engineering thermotolerant biocatalysts for biomass conversion to products - $1,437,620.

PureVision Technology, Inc. (Ft. Lupton, Colorado) - Demonstration of the purevision biorefinery - $2,000,000.

Cargill, Inc. (Minneapolis, Minnesota) - Platform chemicals from an oilseed biorefinery - $1,877,176.

Additional information on the 2002 Farm Bill can be found at www.usda.gov/Farmbill.

Copyright 2003, The JG Press, Inc.