Biomass Conversion Research Laboratory

Saturday, May 17, 2008

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	Energy Facts
The US uses more than 140 billion gallons of gasoline and almost 40 billion gallons of diesel fuel annually. More than 60 percent of the petroleum we use is imported. The 2005 Energy Act mandated that 250 million gallons of ethanol be produced from cellulose materials by 2012.

About the BCRL

The mission of the Biomass Conversion Research Laboratory at Michigan State University is to develop cost effective and environmentally attractive means of generating fuels, chemicals, materials, foods and feeds from renewable plant biomass. We seek to shift the raw material basis of modern society away from excessive dependence on fossil resources, particularly petroleum, and toward biomass. As a global society, one of our greatest economic and environmental risks is our near total reliance on petroleum as a source of liquid transportation fuels. Obviously, the BCRL has chosen no small mission. But we do not believe it is “mission impossible”. In fact, the mission is completely possible. Learn more about the BCRL mission...

Latest News & Announcements

DOE to Invest $34 Million in Enzymes for Cellulosic Ethanol Production
From the U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Biomass Program

The DOE announced on February 26 its selection of four projects to develop improved enzymes for breaking down cellulosic biomass material into sugars, which can then be fermented into ethanol.
read more...

Dr. Dale is Editor-In-Chief of BioFPR
Dr. Dale is Editor-In-Chief of "BioFPR", a new journal discussing Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. The purpose of his publication is to help a wide variety of institutions understand and better manage their own bioeconomy transition. Read BioFPR articles in the Publications section.

MSU receives $50 million DOE grant for bioenergy research
The Biomass Conversion Research Laboratory will be involved in this large and vitally important research project. read more...

BCRL in the news!
Due to many factors, interest in cellulosic ethanol has literally exploded and the media has taken notice. Here, the BCRL and Dr. Bruce Dale are featured in news articles and blogs across the globe!
read more...

Recent Presentations and Conferences
See where we've been spreading the word... read more...

BCRL Leader Meets With President Bush

Dr. Bruce Dale met with President Bush 2/23/07. The meeting lasted about an hour and a half. He sat next to the President during the meeting and had the chance to speak briefly (about 7 minutes) to him about the potential of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels.

Here is a picture of Dr. Dale and President Bush walking back to the White House after a press announcement. (Dr. Dale is the handsome guy in the light gray suit walking next to the President.) read more...

Recent podcast features BCRL leader
Bruce Dale was recently featured on The Spartan Podcast's MSU Today hosted by Russ White. This is a pretty detailed explanation of why we think ethanol and other biofuels are viable alternatives to petroleum. Click the link to listen! read more...

	Watch the AFEX process