WSU to help develop alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and chemicals

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday announced that Washington State University (WSU) will receive a five-year, $40 million grant to help develop alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and chemicals. It is among the largest grants ever awarded by USDA and followed a rigorous national competition. Approximately two-thirds of the funding is directed to research, with the remaining targeted to education and outreach/public awareness.

The Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA) includes a broad consortium of scientists from universities, government laboratories, research institutes, and private industry. The WSU-led grant aims to address the urgent national need for a domestic biofuel alternative for U.S. commercial and military air fleets. NARA researchers envision developing a new, viable, aviation fuel industry using wood and wood waste in the Pacific Northwest, where forests cover almost half of the region. The project also will focus on increasing the profitability of wood-based fuels through development of high-value, bio-based co-products to replace petrochemicals that are used in products such as plastics.

The National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) is a member of the alliance and will receive approximately $1.1 million over four years to perform DNA sequencing and analysis. "Successful development of biofuels requires us to understand why some tree varieties are better than others for converting woody biomass into petrochemical replacements. NCGR can provide the molecular characterization needed to identify the most promising tree lines for selection and breeding," said Callum Bell, NCGR's VP for Research. "These studies will expand the available gene catalogs of tree species as well as enable understanding of the biochemical features that explain amenability of particular wood products to the pretreatment and bioconversion steps that lead to products that will ultimately burn in jet engines," he added.

John Crow, Vice President for Informatics at NCGR, adds: "NCGR has a great track record in developing bioinformatics methodologies for cutting-edge research like this. This is a great opportunity for our team to continue contributing to the community."