Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center: Basic Research for Cellulosic Biofuels in the US

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May 19, 2015

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by Danilo Gusmão de Quadros* (Advanced Biofuels USA) This reports on part of a trip to Wisconsin to visit the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), University of Wisconsin (UW), a dairy farm that uses biogas production and the World Dairy Expo.

I traveled across the US from South to the North last October by car looking at different landscapes, from the Tennessee mountains to the central plains full of corn in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. The goals of this trip were to learn more about research and educational projects of GLBRC and UW, and to get a deeper understanding of biogas production in the US.

Bioenergy Research Centers

Lets get started with GLBRC. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) established three Bioenergy Research Centers (BRCs, http://genomicscience.energy.gov/centers/) in September 2007 to provide the fundamental science to underpin a cost-effective, advanced cellulosic biofuels industry. There are three BRCs:

DOE BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) led by DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) led by the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, in close collaboration with Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.
DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) led by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin

GLBRC (https://www.glbrc.org) is the only BRC led by academia (University of Wisconsin-Madison, with Michigan State University as a major partner). With more than 400 scientists, students and staff representing a wide array of disciplines from microbiology to economics and engineering, the GLBRC emerged from the efforts of academic and federal sector researchers.

GLBRC is working to meet the nation’s need for clean energy technologies, including next generation drop-in fuels. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in 2007 established the goal of production and use of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, with 16 billion coming from cellulosic feedstocks.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), by 2012, just about five percent of energy used in the U.S. came from biomass fuels. From this, 44% was biofuel; mainly corn grain ethanol. Then, as converting food into biofuels faces many ethical and economic concerns, the DOE has encouraged the production of ethanol from cellulosic biomass.

Following this national trend, the GLBRC focuses on basic science from biomass production to final conversion to fuel, with sustainability permeating all these steps.

Research at Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center

The research lines at GLBRC are divided into four main groups: plant, deconstruction, conversion, and sustainability.

In the plant area, researchers are interested in studying feedstocks —such as switchgrass, corn stover, mixed prairie grasses and poplar. Advanced techniques of molecular microbiology have been used to identify new varieties, which are more productive and have appropriate composition to be converted into biofuels.

Also, increasing the utilization of an abundant residue such as corn stover is for sure part of the effort. More research about utilization of established grasslands as a feedstock source has been conducted, as well as research about new short rotation wood crops.

After obtaining the feedstock, the concern is to find an efficient, effective, easy and cheap way to treat the material to convert insoluble compounds into soluble sugars (called pretreatment, saccharification or deconstruction). These essential components can then be transformed into ethanol and other products.

Among many options of physical, chemical, and biological biomass treatments, they have bet on ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX). AFEX is a method in which liquid ammonia is added to biomass under moderate pressure (100 to 400 psi) and temperature (70 to 200°C) before rapidly releasing the pressure. Major process parameters are the temperature of the reaction, residence time, ammonia loading, and water loading. This process decrystallises the cellulose, hydrolyses hemicellulose, removes and depolymerises lignin, and increases the size and number of micropores in the cell wall, thereby significantly increasing the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis.

Other methods to convert plant biomass to fuels include biological (such as microbe metabolism) or chemical processes (such as heterogeneous catalysis). GLBRC researchers have tackled both approaches, with the long-term goals of improving biomass conversion to ethanol, advanced biofuels, and other chemicals.

Sustainability is a way of thinking and feeling that connects environmental resources with the principles of economics and life cycle analysis across disciplines. It may be present in all areas previously cited. The center's work on large-scale lignocellulosic biomass production systems includes agriculture, industry, ecology and human behavior. Research focuses on understanding the attributes and mechanisms responsible for the environmental sustainability of biofuel production systems, such as environmental impacts — many of which may be positive — and socioeconomic factors including incentives and policy options.

Education and Outreach

In addition, the GLBRC has an Education and Outreach program (https://www.glbrc.org/education) that broadens public understanding of current issues in bioenergy, provides professional development resources for educators, and learning opportunities for tomorrow’s energy leaders.

At UW-Madison, GLBRC is housed within the Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI), a prominent and eco-planned building that houses modern well-equipped labs and administrative offices.

To learn more about GLBRC research and educational projects listen to an interview of Dr. John Greenler conducted by Dan Quadros (below). The interview is very informative.

Dr. Greenler works on GLBRC education and outreach efforts with a diversity of audiences including formal and informal educators, the general public, legislators and scientists. He has worked on a number of national education programs including the BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium and Wisconsin Fast Plants; and taught at Beloit College as faculty in the Biology Department.

1 – Could you describe the history and the purpose of GLBRC?