Lee, along with other bioenergy research leaders on campus, will negotiate to re-budget and re-prioritize how the funds will be spent in order to meet the research program’s proposed objectives. Obtaining less than the requested amount is common, he said.
You can’t do everything you said you were going to do, but we’ll select high priority things, Lee said.
The University seeks allotments to finance critical research when the usual sources of funding, namely competitive grants, are either unavailable or not readily available, Lee said.
There have been four previous $1 million allotments for bioenergy, all for the Biorefining and Carbon Cycling program, said Terry Hastings, director of public relations in the Office for Research said.
The University’s Biorefining program was created in 2001. The program, managed by K.C. Das, uses a biorefinery to convert biomass into biofuels and other bioproducts.
The Biorefining and Carbon Cycling program has a core group of around six faculty members who work on thermo chemical conversion, biochar and micro-algae and anaerobic digestion, Das said.
The University’s biorefinery is a factory that converts biomass, or plant material, such as wood chips, to create many sustainable energy products. One product is bio-oil, an hydrocarbon oil added to diesel fuel that reduces greenhouse emissions.
The research comprises of finding the best way to prepare biomass, which are plant materials, prior to fermentation, and different biofermentation approaches, Lee said.
It will be funded by the Department of Energy and treated with the same level of accountability as funds coming from a competitive grant, Lee said.
Our aim is to further the objectives that Congress wants – promoting energy independence, developing clean fuels and promoting economic development, especially in rural development, Lee said.
