A recent grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will allow N.C. State, in partnership with the Research Triangle Institute and the University of Utah, to begin research on a process to turn tree fibers into biofuels.

According to J.B. Jett, the associate dean for research and extension of the College of Natural Resources, the grant allocated $2 million to the Research Triangle Institute.

“A subcontract of a little more than $600,000 will be going to NCSU for its research,” Jett said.

Hasan Jameel, a professor in the wood and science department and one of the head researchers on the project, said RTI, NCSU and the University of Utah will study a three-step process for turning biomass into a fuel — which includes gasification of the biomass, cleaning up the synthetic gas and converting the synthetic gas into a waxy material which becomes feedstock in a petroleum oil refinery.

“We’re going to make a product that looks like oil,” Jameel said. “That way we can feed it directly into our petroleum refinery.”

While each of these steps in the biomass conversion process has proven successful, researchers are going to be studying how the three steps work together. “In this project we’re going to show that the three of these things can work together in a continuous operation,” Jameel said.

As for the University’s role in this researching process, Jameel said the departments of chemical engineering and wood and paper science were chosen to do the research because of their knowledge of biomass.

“Our expertise at N.C. State is to understand the biomass and understand the reactions that will happen from gasification and in cleaning up, and also conversion of the synthetic gas into the waxy material,” he said.

According to Jameel, RTI and the University of Utah were also chosen because of the expertise and technologies they possess.

“RTI owns the technology for the synthetic gas cleanup and the conversion of the synthetic gas into the liquid … and the University of Utah has something called a gasifier that can take biomass and convert it into a synthetic gas,” Jameel said.

He said he is confident the process of turning biomass into a fuel will be a success.

“The main thing we have to understand is the economics and the problems that might arise when we bring the three steps together, but I think it will be successful,” Jameel said.

Joseph Roise, a professor in forestry and environmental resources, said he believes this research will be effective because of the abundance of biomass due to fire suppression.

“The potential market for it is great,” Roise said. “All biomass is carbon-based also, which means it is considered carbon-neutral and doesn’t contribute to the atmosphere of carbon like a fossil carbon.” Regardless of the success of the process being studied, Jett feels the research will still result in some good information and connections for the University and the departments.

“The important thing is the partnerships that will be growing over this equally important research,” Jett said.