The Future of Biomass Fuels

Mississippi and other Southeastern states comprise a “treasure chest” of biomass crops that can be converted not only into fuels but other valuable products.

“The food news is we have products that offer a lot of pros that petroleum can’t, including being a renewable asset and being environmentally friendly,” says Mark Zappi, distinguished professor of chemical engineering at Mississippi State University, who also directs the Department of Energy-funded Mississippi Consortium for Utilization of Biomass and the MSU Environmental Technology Research Laboratory.

Capitalizing on these resources will require broad thinking --- thinking that looks beyond the handful of products normally associated with biomass fuels.

“Crude oil is very complex and can be refined into dozens of high-dollar chemicals, not just gasoline and diesel. Biomass is chemically just as complex, with hundreds of chemicals that can be produced. When people talk about biomass refineries of the future, they generally talk about only two to four products. That’s not good enough — that would put us where oil was about 1910. We’ve got to squeeze more products out of biomass, and do it at an economical price.”

Posted by Jim Langcuster at September 10, 2004 02:47 PM | TrackBack