Faculty and Student Teams Program

Project Descriptions

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
National Bioenergy Center

Barriers to Biomass Conversion to Sugars and Sustainable Transportation Fuels

Project Description

Biomass is plant matter such as trees, grasses, agricultural crops or other biological material. It can be used as a solid fuel, or converted into liquid or gaseous forms, for the production of electric power, heat, chemicals, or fuels. By integrating a variety of biomass conversion processes, all of these products can be made in one facility, called a biorefinery. NREL is working to develop cost effective, environmentally friendly biomass conversion technologies to reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, improve our air quality, and support rural economies.

Technology currently exists for the biochemical conversion of non-edible lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol, but with production costs that are not yet competitive with petroleum-based liquid fuels.  Several research efforts at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and elsewhere are focused on increasing the efficiency of biochemical conversion, which typically occurs in three steps:  pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis (saccharification), and fermentation. Two possibilities for cost-savings include maximizing sugar yields from biomass and minimizing solvent added during the conversion process.  Both of these objectives require an understanding of how biomass substrate interacts with the solvent and what structural and process barriers exist to efficient conversion.

Which and how much solvent to use is typically a trade-off between effectiveness of the access of the enzyme to the biomass, inhibition of the enzyme and ease of material handling.  Effectively liberating sugars at high concentrations remains a challenge because of the convolution of internal and external mass transport limitations and the balance between breaking down biomass and product degradation.  All of the technical barriers require an understanding of the local environment of the enzyme as it interacts with the biomass.  This project will take advantage of manipulations of both the solvent and the substrate to understand and experimentally demonstrate the relative contributions of these obstacles to sugar conversion.

Applicants Responsibilities and Relationship to the Project:
 
Applicants will receive support under the Department of Energy Faculty Student Team Research Program (FaST) to work collaboratively with the project research team at NREL for up to 10 weeks during the summer starting in June.  Summer and academic year visits by NREL will be schedule by mutual agreement between the Research Project Managers at NREL and the successful applicant.  Faculty will be expected to identify students from the campus to participate in the FaST program offered by the Department of Energy at NREL. Faculty will provide mentorship and/or advising support to students during the summer research activities.  It is expected that the Faculty member will become an integral part of the research team working on this project and will support the project through the academic year on his or her campus.

Qualifications of Ideal Candidate for both the Faculty and Student:
 
Faculty: Ph.D. with experience in cellulose or biomass including enzymatic hydrolysis.  Works well in a collaborative environment with students and other researchers. Currently teaches and collaborates with students in his/her field.  Possesses good written and verbal communication skills.  Willing to work at NREL for an extended period during the summer.

Students: Working towards a BS in engineering or BA in science with an emphasis on renewable energy. Works well in collaboration with faculty, other students, and researchers.  Possesses good written and verbal communication skills.  Willing to work at NREL for an extended period during the summer.

Support and Financial Commitments

See Financial Information.

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