Texas A&M Bioenergy Research Capabilities
for
Sura Bioenergy Meeting
February 27 & 28, 2007
Washington, D.C.
Texas A&M University
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station
Texas Engineering Experiment Station
Integrated Capabilities
The United States is poised to build a highly productive bioenergy/biofuels
industry, and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, the Texas Engineering
Experiment Station and Texas A&M University (collectively Texas A&M) are
uniquely positioned to provide leadership in this area. By partnering with
universities and organizations outside the Texas A&M System our researchers
can provide unique discoveries and solutions that will help the Department of
Energy meets its bioenergy goals.
Texas A&M has a large capacity to conduct bioenergy and renewable energy
research. Well recognized programs are established in the following areas.
Plant systems research
 Genetic selection and increase for elite lines of high-yielding sorghums &
other native or introduced grasses
 Molecular biology analysis of sorghums and other grasses for dedicated
energy crops
 Analysis of cellulose feedstock composition
Cropping systems research
 Crop modeling to predict sustainable production of biomass
 Analyzing water demands of dedicated energy crops
 Determining the effects of cultural practices on bioenergy crop yields,
greenhouse gas emissions, and long-term soil quality and productivity
 Production systems for dedicated bioenergy crops
 Development of efficient harvest, transport, and storage systems
Economic/Policy analysis research
 Economic models for developing probabilistic forecasts of biofuels
(including ethanol and biodiesel) that incorporate uncertainty in the
markets, federal and state policies, and the economics of producing these
renewable fuels
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Economic models of plants to produce renewable fuels, showing the
probability of economic success, rates of return to assets and equity, and
cash-flow risk, evaluating the optimal relationship between input prices for
biomass and output prices for renewable fuels for economic viability of the
plants
Cost analyses of producing renewable fuels from biomass using
alternative processes and technologies
Economic impact analyses to estimate the employment and output
multiplier benefits of alternative-energy-source bioenergy plants and
industries
Business plans for new technologies
Chemical Conversion and Processes
 Biofuel processing: densification, sizing, separation, blending
 Bioenergy conversion: biological conversion (fermentation or anaerobic
digestion) and thermochemical conversion (pyrolysis, gasification,
combustion—cofiring, reburn—or similar processes)
 Energy recovery and utilization
 Coproduct recovery and utilization
 Reduction of emissions (particulate matter, ammonia, volatile organic
compounds, and/or losses of carbon-based greenhouse gases)
 Increasing efficiency of mechanical engines and vehicles
 Aerosols
research
 Systems integration and optimization
Environmental assessment
 Life-cycle analyses for cradle-to-grave impact of bioenergy technologies
 Climate-change assessment for global impact on the environment of
bioenergy technologies, including greenhouse gasses and other pollutants
 Biological process evaluation
 Bioremediation and biodegradation as potential solutions to environmental
problems caused by bioenergy technologies
 Water-resource evaluation—crucial because many forms of bioenergy
require significant increases in the water used to produce energy
Computational science research
 Bioinformatics research applying math, statistics, and computation to life
sciences (genome structures, phylogenetics, protein structure)
 Data mining research to expand knowledge by applying computational
methods to extract information from huge volumes of data
 Large-scale simulations for computational-intensive and/or data-intensive
research requiring advanced computational resources
Safety and risk assessment research
 Research in facility siting
 Studies in safe boundaries for storage and handling of reactive chemicals
 Research to design systems resilient to potential faults
 Risk and decision analyses
 Research to establish/maintain safety of processes through automation
and analysis methods
COMBINED BIOENERGY-RELATED RESEARCH FACILITIES
Bioenergy research and development is supported by numerous laboratories
located on the campus of Texas A&M University and at many other locations
statewide. A partial listing of these facilities is provided below.
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Sorghum Improvement Laboratory, a sorghum breeding program
focused on improving sorghums grown for feed, forage, fuel, and food
Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology, for plant research and
development aspects of bioenergy activities, with bioinstrumentation for
plant genomics, bioseparations, and gene manipulation, all geared toward
crop improvement (includes greenhouse)
Bioseparations Laboratory develops bioprocesses for extracting,
separating and purifying plant-derived biomolecules, focusing on industrial
enzymes and therapeutic proteins produced in transgenic plants systems
(corn,
rice,
sugarcane,
tobacco,
duckweed)
Biological Material Properties Laboratory, which determines
mechanical and barrier properties of biopolymeric films
Agricultural Air Quality Center Laboratory, whose research includes
determining scientifically-based particulate mass and gas emissions from
agricultural facilities and processes and evaluation of mitigation practices
Wind Tunnels, with facilities ideal for evaluating vehicle design to
improve efficiency and for evaluating particulate matter
Bioenergy Testing and Analysis Laboratory, which develops and
tests, improved process efficiencies, product quality standards, byproducts, and air-quality emissions (may establish standards for new
biofuels)
Texas Food Safety Engineering Laboratory, which researches food
irradiation and energy efficiency (pretreatment of biomass for ethanol
production, irradiation thermal-cracking for distillation of heavy oils)
Laboratory for Sorghum Genome Research, creating platform
technologies for genetic and genome scale research on sorghum
Renewable Energy Laboratory, with a small-scale boiler burner and a
gasifier for combustion and emissions research
Three Air Quality Field Laboratories, which include mobile field
equipment for air-quality monitoring at cattle feedlots, dairies, and swine
facilities; EPA-approved or industry-standard sampling and analysis
equipment for PM10, PM2.5, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and odorous-
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volatile organic gases; and a weight-drop test chamber for simulating
cattle-feedlot dust emissions
Bioconversion Processes and New Car Engines Laboratory, where
researchers are developing a biomass demonstration plant capable of
processing 100 tons per day of biomass (facility has laboratory and pilotplant space)
Center for Large Scale Scientific Computing, with goals of (1)
advancing the state of the art in large-scale scientific simulations and of
(2) developing educational programs that will prepare participants for
careers in scientific simulation
Combustion and Fuels Research Laboratory, investigating efficient and
clean combustion processes for fuel development, including studies on
engine technologies, emissions, and energy
Food Protein Research and Development Center, with developmental
work on oilseed products and processing, specializing in improving yields
and quality of oils from refining operations, modification of oil properties,
and applications in food products
Hybrid Vehicles Laboratory, for developing electrical systems (motors
and controllers) suitable for hybrid vehicles
Kinetics/Catalysis Laboratory, which houses equipment to study the
kinetics/catalysis process including a fixed-bed isothermal reactor and an
APTAC
Mary K. O’Conner Process Safety Center, which leads the integration of
process safety—through education, research, and service—into learning
and practice
Parasol Laboratory, developing algorithmic solutions for problems in
areas such as computational biology, motion planning, computational
geometry, parallel and distributed computing, and computational science
SynFuels Pilot Plant, with processing units (plant can produce up to ten
barrels a day, operating as a natural gas to liquid facility)