Bioenergy
Producing energy (power, heat, and fuels) and products (ie. chemicals, nutrients, fiber) from biomass has become a relatively controversial issue. What is lost in that controversy is that bioenergy and bioproducts can help improve the sustainability of our agriculture and food systems and rural communities through diversification (economic and biological); recovery and recycling of carbon, nutrients and energy from organic wastes; reduction of environmental pollutants; and generation of income and investment opportunities for farmers and rural communities.
The Pacific Northwest is rich in it's biological diversity -- both in natural systems and agricultural systems -- which provides a valuable resource base for developing sustainable, scale-appropriate technologies and products that reduce environmental pollution, produce renewable energy and products - many of which can be recycled into agricultural production, and generate income for rural communities. CSANR has helped to develop a signficant research capacity in bioenergy and bioproducts -- especially focusing on recovery and recycling of organic waste materials for sustainable end uses in agriculture.
The following links are to CSANR collaborators and projects:
WSU Bioprocessing & Bioproducts Engineering Laboratory, Shulin Chen
Professor Shulin Chen's Research Laboratory group at the WSU Department of Biological Systems Engineering. Research efforts include organic waste inventory and characterization; anaerobic digestion of manure and food processing wastes; High Solids Anaerobic Digestion for the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Wastes (OFMSW); recovery of nutrients and fertilizers from organic wastes; and pre-treatment technology for advanced biofuels derived from organic wastes.
WSU Thermo-Chemical Engineering Laboratory, Manuel Garcia-Perez
Professor Garcia-Perez is an expert in thermo-chemical engineering of biomass into energy and products. Our work with Garcia-Perez includes the development and evaluation of biochar from the pyrolysis of woody organic wastes as a potential soil amendment.
WSU Biofuels Cropping Systems Research Project
Pacific Northwest cropping systems are dominated by irrigated specialty crops (ie. fruits and vegetables), high quality forages, and a dryland cereal grain system (primarily wheat). It is highly unlikely that we will ever seen the "fence-row to fence-row" production of commodity crops that fit the model of first generation biofuel crops (ie. corn and soybeans). However, a number of interesting alternative crops that could be used for first or second generation biofuels / bioproducts could prove to be interesting options that enable farmers to manage their current cropping systems more sustainably. For instance, the brassica crops (canola, mustard, camelina, etc.) are a valuable rotational crop for wheat by providing biological and management tools that enable producers to break up weed and disease cycles that affect wheat production. Some of the high-biomass producing grasses could provide tools to both dryland and irrigated producers to restore degraded soils. A long-term biofuels croppping systems research project to develop and evaluate the use of biofuel crops in Washington cropping systems (statewide) was established in 2007.
Pacific Regional Biomass Energy Partnership
This is a 6-state effort supported jointly by the State Energy Offices and the US Department of Energy that provides a clearinghouse for information on bioenergy in the region. It is the repository for a number of research reports and tools developed by CSANR and our colleagues including the Washington Biomass Inventory and Bioenergy Assessment interactive GIS; the Biomass Inventory Report; the Biomass Inventory Chemical Characteristics Report; and the Beyond Waste Workshop Proceedings and project reports.
Resources
CSANR Climate Friendly Farming Team Wins National Innovation Award
Proceedings for the Beyond Waste Workshop (2009)
Washington Climate Change Impact Assessment Report Chapter 5: Assessment of Climate Change Impact on Eastern Washington Agriculture (2009)
Washington State Agricultural Sector Carbon Market Workgroup (ASCMW): Recommendations for the Development of Agricultural Sector Carbon Offsets in Washington State (2008)
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