Stories by Robert Mills
BEI student wins second excellence award
Dustin Dalluge, a Ph.D. mechanical engineering student of BEI director Robert C. Brown, has been recognized for research excellence by Iowa State University’s Graduate College for the summer of 2013. Dalluge won the teaching excellence version of the same award earlier this year. He receives a letter of commendation from Iowa State President Steven Leath, a certificate of achievement signed by Leath and Associate Provost and Graduate Dean Dave Holger, and an honor cord to be worn at graduation.
Dalluge is studying both mechanical engineering and Biorenewable Resources and Technologies (BRT). He is also minoring in chemical engineering. His research and dissertation are focused on optimization of biomass fast pyrolysis for the production of monomers. “I have researched methods of pretreating biomass before pyrolysis, methods of bio-oil collection, and fundamentals involving the action of alkali and alkaline earth metals on the pyrolysis of both carbohydrates and lignin,” Dalluge says.
Group heads to Biomass Conversion Conference
More than 25 faculty, staff, and students from the ISU Bioeconomy Institute will be participating in tcbiomass2013, the International Conference on Thermochemical Biomass Conversion Science. The event will be held in Chicago, Illinois, Sept. 3-6, 2013.
They will join world-leading researchers, scientists, and engineers in learning more about gasification, pretreatment, pyrolysis, and upgrading. Attendees will hear about the latest research, development, and deployment results for thermal biomass conversion technologies and systems. The use of biomass as a renewable and sustainable fuel is growing as industry experts move advanced conversion processes along the path to commercialization, and moving the world toward a cleaner, more diverse, and affordable energy future.
Robert Brown, BEI director, is co-chairing a session on pyrolysis, a thermochemical process often used to convert biomass into fuels and chemicals. Some 14 students from BEI and its Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies will be showing 18 posters featuring thermochemical and biorenewables research at Iowa State.
BEI is also a sponsor of the conference and will have an exhibit featuring the institute’s thermochemical and hybrid processing capabilities. The conference will also be showcasing a new, five-minute video highlighting BEI’s world-leading thermochemical conversion capabilities.
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Affiliates to speak at RIN Academy
Three affiliates of the Bioeconomy Institute are among the notable group of experts from the renewable fuel industry who are featured speakers at the RIN Academy set for Aug. 26, 2013 in Des Moines, Iowa. The event is a first-of-its-kind educational program where key members of the industry and academia will unravel the complex world of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). The program is sponsored by EcoEngineers, Iowa State University, and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE).
The BEI affiliates are Bruce Babcock, Cargill Chair of Energy Economics and director of the Biobased Industry Center at Iowa State University; Mark Mba Wright, assistant professor in mechanical engineering; and Tristan Brown, research associate at the Bioeconomy Institute.
The RIN Academy will provide guidance on the state of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), discuss opportunities in higher ethanol blends and showcase new technologies. RIN Academy is targeted at all participants in the RIN supply chain, including RIN generators, buyers, sellers, investors, compliance officers, obligated parties, project promoters, and media.
Topics to be addresses at the event include:
- Scaling the Blend Wall – Current Constraints on the RFS and Available Solution
- Dollars and Cents – RIN Pricing and Opportunities in Higher Ethanol Blends
- Iowa vs. Brazil – Outlook for Advanced Biofuel RINs – Biodiesel or Sugar Ethanol?
- Know the Law – RIN QAP Requirements & Other Proposed Rule Making
- Prepare for Change – Next Generation Biofuels are Here