Improved Plants

The inability of many plants to store energy-rich hydrocarbons, as well as difficulties in breaking down cell walls in plants, present barriers to using biomass for bioenergy production. Our researchers work to improve plant biomass by increasing hydrocarbons in plants and creating cell walls that can be more easily degraded.

Improved Processing

The efficient conversion of insoluble plant biomass to soluble sugars is a major challenge to the economical production of bioenergy products. To remove this bottleneck, new treatments are needed for processing feedstocks such as corn stover, switchgrass or wood chips. In this area, our long-term goal is to develop new physical and biological ways to process plant biomass.

Improved Catalysts

To improve how we convert biomass into energy products, we are exploring solutions to convert plant-derived sugars (and photosynthetically-derived energy) into bioenergy compounds. Our long-term goals are to improve methods for converting biomass into ethanol, advanced biofuels and other chemical feedstocks that can replace fossil fuels.

Sustainability

Progress toward a sustainable bioenergy economy will be achieved by exploring novel production systems with optimum biomass yields and minimal environmental costs. Our long-term goals are to explore different plant species and their management intensities, optimize soil and microbe interactions, understand water and nutrient use limitations, evaluate global warming potential and enhance ecosystem services. This will also include analysis of economic and biophysical limitations at regional and global scale and development of strategies to overcome limitations.