July | 2015 | NARA | Washington State University

Wet explosion pretreatment on Douglas-fir forest residuals

July 28, 2015 charles.dillon2

Overall mass balance of the optimal wet explosion run at 190 °C, 7.5% O2 loading, and 30 minutes residence time. Figure from Biswas, R., Teller, P.J. & Ahring, B.K. (2015) Pretreatment of forest residues of Douglas fir by wet explosion for enhanced enzymatic saccharification. Bioresource Technology, 192, 46-53. — Overall mass balance of the optimal wet explosion run at 190 °C, 7.5% O2 loading, …more

Northwest high school students present biofuel projects

July 28, 2015 charles.dillon2

2015 Imagine Tomorrow Awards Ceremony at Washington State University on Saturday, May 30, 2015.

One of the goals for the NARA project is to enhance the bioenergy literacy of students, educators and the general public. NARA (through the USDA-NIFA) has supported the Imagine Tomorrow competition as a means to …more

Dissertations and theses from NARA graduate students

July 28, 2015 charles.dillon2

Images of some graduate students working on NARA projects

Since NARA’s inception in 2011, over 100 graduate students have conducted research for NARA funded by the USDA-NIFA. Their efforts contribute substantially towards NARA goals and play an important role in preparing a trained workforce for a bioenergy-based industry.

Often a student’s dissertation or thesis …more

Unlocking Lignin

July 10, 2015 charles.dillon2

Fractionating the molecular structure of wood has always been a challenging issue in biofuel production from woody biomass. ORNL research team has simulated a genetically modified aspen tree lignin molecule linked to a hemicellulose molecule and demonstrated that genetic modification of lignin can boost the amount of biofuel derived from plant material without compromising the structural integrity of the plant. Read more at http://www.biomassmagazine.com/articles/12149/ornl-unlocking-lignin-for-sustainable-biofuel.