New research center will assist in turning plant materials into fuel
Ben Kleppinger
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: News
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Eastern President Doug Whitlock said Eastern will be working with its corporate partner, San Diego-based General Atomics, to develop an "optimum mix" of plant materials grown in Kentucky that can be used to create fuel using algae.
General Atomics Vice President Bill Davison said General Atomics has already done work producing biofuel using algae in the sunny desert areas of the southwest U.S., but wants to develop the capabilities to produce the fuel in other areas of the country as well.
General Atomics has already done work in Kentucky, including the creation of hazardous waste disposal units for the Blue Grass Army Depot, Davison said.
Eastern's role in the project will be through its newly created Center for Renewable and Alternative Fuels Technology (CRAFT), Whitlock said. Whitlock said the center is currently staffed by two Eastern agriculture professors, Dr. Bruce Pratt and Dr. Don Llewellyn, and an Eastern economics professor, Dr. Frank O'Connor.
The center will conduct research on Eastern's campus and in the field to determine which inedible plant parts create the best mix for pairing with algae to creat biofuel.
Pratt said potential plant choices include switch grass, corn stalks and sawdust. The plant parts must be made of cellulose, an indigestible part of the plant for humans, Pratt said.
In order to create the biofuel, the cellulose must be broken down into its sugar components. Those sugars are then used to feed the algae, which have a very high oil content, Pratt said. That oil is then extracted from the algae and refined into biodiesel, he said.
Whitlock said the first step would be to create diesel fuel, but ultimately the goal would be to produce jet fuel.
Sen. Harry Moberly (D-Richmond) said Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio is one potential consumer of the biofuel.
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