The Wisconsin Bioenergy
Initiative is a public-private partnership that showcases bioenergy
research, outreach and training in the UW System.
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Bio Economy Home »
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Bio-Processing |
| This page focuses on processes and technologies to refine bio-based feedstocks into energy, fuel and other products. |
| Articles and Reports |
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| Biofuels Battle: Chemistry Versus Biology |
Forbes Magazine article from April 2009 that positions several companies in different places around the biofuel debate between chemical and biological processes. |
| Properties and applications of biodegradable transparent and photoluminescent cellulose films prepared via a green process |
A 2009 research paper in Green Chemistry. |
Modified Lignin Has Potential Benefits for Ethanol, Paper and Feed |
December 2008 press release from the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service detailing research happening at UW-Madison to simplify the conversion of cellulose into ethanol and other products. |
| Selective hydrolysis of cellulose into glucose over solid acid catalysts |
Research published in Green Chemistry's 2008 vol. 10. Abstract: "The mildly hydrothermal method using solid acid catalysts for the glucose production from cellulose can be one of the key technologies for a future sustainable society using cellulose biomass. This article is the first to indicate solid acid catalysis for the hydrolysis of cellulose with  -1,4-glycosidic bonds into glucose selectively higher than 90 C-%. Among the solid acid catalysts we tested, such as the H-form zeolite catalysts and the sulfated and sulfonated catalysts, a sulfonated activated-carbon catalyst showed a remarkably high yield of glucose, which was due to the high hydrothermal stability and the excellent catalytic property attributed to the strong acid sites of SO3H functional groups and the hydrophobic planes." |
I Have Just One Word for You: Bioplastics |
Article from June 20, 2008 issue of Business Week magazine, Abstract: "Cambridge (Mass.) company, Metabolix (NasdaqGM:MBLX - News), has harnessed the complex genetics of plant-cell metabolism and collected hundreds of patents on a process for manufacturing "bioplastics" in large vats of microbes. A $200million factory is under construction and could start producing Metabolix's bioplastic, called Mirel, early next year."
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| Technical and Financial Feasibility Analysis of Distributed Bioprocessing Using Regional Biomass Pre-Processing Centers |
Published Dec 2007 in the Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization. By Joseph E. Carolan et al, from Michigan State University. Summary:
Research indicates that large biorefineries capable of handling 5000-10000MT of biomass per day are necessary to achieve process economies. However, such large biorefineries also entail increased costs of biomass transportation and storage, high transaction costs of contracting with a large number of farmers for biomass supply, potential market power issues, and local environmental impacts. We propose a network of regional biomass preprocessing centers (RBPC) that form an extended biomass supply chain feeding into a biorefinery, as a way to address these issues. The RBPC, in its mature form, is conceptualized as a flexible processing facility capable of pre-treating and converting biomass into appropriate feedstocks for a variety of final products such as fuels, chemicals, electricity, and animal feeds. We evaluate the technical and financial feasibility of a simple RBPC that uses ammonia fiber expansion pretreatment process and produces animal feed along with biorefinery feedstock.
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