Researchers investigating biomass deconstruction used autofluorescence
to observe the breakdown of a switchgrass stem that was treated with
ionic liquid. (See Singh et al., 2009, Biotechnology and Bioengineering
vol. 104, pp 68–75.)
Lignocellulosic biomass, or plant biomass, is an attractive source for biofuels. The public and researchers alike are intrigued by the idea of using readily available “plant waste,” such as corn stover, sawdust, or other agricultural residue, to create carbon-neutral transportation fuels.
However, creating alternative fuels from cellulosic biomass is not an easy task. Although biomass contains a large amount of energy, this energy is trapped in polysaccharides. To release this energy and convert it to a form that burns more cleanly and is easily transported and stored, researchers must first find a way to break down the polysaccharides into simple sugars. These sugars must then be fermented and converted into the desired biofuels.
Researchers at Sandia are focusing on four main areas:
- Feedstocks—Finding the best lignocellulosic biomass source for biofuels. Sandia scientists are working to select the best strain to optimize bioenergy crops. One pathway is by engineering special biomass crops—such as switchgrass—to facilitate the deconstruction process so that fermentable sugars are more easily released.
- Deconstruction—Developing new ways to break down the plant cell wall. Sandians are investigating biomass pretreatment technologies, such as ionic-liquid techniques, to accelerate the deconstruction of biomass into fermentable sugars.
- Fuels Synthesis—Facilitating the fermentation process of sugars into biofuels. The sugars that result from cellulosic biomass deconstruction are complex and difficult to ferment. Sandia researchers are engineering new microbes for use in the fermentation process.
- Technologies—Developing advanced technologies for biofuels research and development. Sandia is using our world-class biotechnology capabilities in biomolecular imaging, computational biology, microfluidics, and bionanotechnology, as well as corporate strengths in systems engineering and manufacturing technologies, to help advance the progress of biofuels research.
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Strategic Partnerships
Sandia has formed many partnerships to further the development of biofuels from cellulosic biomass:
- The Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI). Sandia is part of a six-institution team that created JBEI, one of three U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Bioenergy Research Centers. JBEI is led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and includes Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of California (UC) at Berkeley, UC Davis, and the Carnegie Institution of Science. JBEI is dedicated to advancing the development of next-generation biofuels, with a special focus on addressing the systems biology challenges of producing hydrocarbon biofuels from cellulose.
- West Coast Biorefinery. Funded by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), this project is a commercial partnership between Pacific Ethanol and BioGasol with Berkeley Lab and Sandia to develop the first cellulosic biorefinery plant to be built in the Pacific Northwest. Sandia’s role is to investigate the optimization of pretreatment conditions as a function of feedstock.
- Commercial Enzymes System. This EERE-funded biofuels project is led by the DSM Innovation Center and is focused on developing a new commercial enzymes system for lignocellulosic biomass saccharification. Sandia’s role is to improve the catalytic efficiency of the lignocellulosic enzymes system by using structure and function correlations to engineer a catalytic and binding domain that will catalyze lignocellulosic pretreated biomass hydrolysis.
- Advanced Technology Solutions for U.S. Agriculture. This collaborative research-and-development agreement (CRADA) was established between Sandia and Monsanto, a leading U.S. agricultural biotechnology company. We are applying Sandia’s hyperspectral imaging expertise to Monsanto’s plant tissue and have developed a new instrument for use at Monsanto. This instrument included significant design improvements and new multivariate image-analysis software that has been optimized for plant tissue. We are now carrying out collaborative hyperspectral imaging and data analysis at both sites for high-ethanol yield corn.
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