Des Moines-based utility company MidAmerican Energy completed a $3.6 billion initiative on April 14 to get 85 percent of its energy from wind. The company, which serves 752,000 electrical customers, won’t need to increase customers’ energy costs mostly due to federal production tax credits. CEO Bill Fehrman says the company is hoping to deliver 100 …Continue reading “MidAmerican Energy aims for 85% wind power”
Expecting a baby with the new year, Iowa State University engineering doctoral student Marty Haverly has been thinking a lot about the climate challenges future generations face. Haverly and his wife, Julie, a senior business analyst at the Ames-based biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group, think they have the opportunity to address those challenges head-on.
Civil, construction and environmental engineering professor uses Iowa agricultural products to create bioasphalt Asphalt materials affect everyone in the country, from the roads we drive on to the airports we fly out of. Producing the materials is a complicated process with many variables, one of which is the use of oil-based materials. Though asphalt production …Continue reading “R. Christopher Williams awarded utility patent for asphalt materials production method”
Many people find the role of biofuels in managing greenhouse gases difficult to understand. It can be readily explained over a cup of coffee. Imagine a couple who enjoy cups of coffee every morning. Of course, they wash and reuse the cups. The husband discovers that Amazon.com will deliver two new coffee cups every morning …Continue reading “Managing carbon like coffee cups”
Senator Joni Ernst continued her 99 county tour Wednesday in Story County at Iowa State University. Ernst toured a new complex of buildings on campus devoted to the latest Bio Renewable fuels and Agriculture and Bio Systems Engineering. “Our new buildings here are the result of our impact on the bio economy and agriculture here …Continue reading “Senator Ernst tours new ag labs at Iowa State”
Researchers at Iowa State University are trying to determine whether crop residue could pay off in three ways simultaneously: as a source of biofuel, as a soil enhancer, and as a long-term sink for carbon dioxide. At the heart of their investigation is a heating process known as pyrolysis that turns plant matter into biochar, …Continue reading “How crop waste could become carbon-negative energy”
Four College of Engineering faculty recognized The Iowa Energy Center recently honored leaders and innovators in the center’s four program areas – bioenergy, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and education and outreach – with the Impact Award. This year was the first year with grants awarded. Five award winners were chosen in these categories, four of …Continue reading “Iowa Energy Center announces 2014 Impact Awards”
Written by Bob Mills, Bioeconomy Institute communications specialist A mixed-media work of art entitled “Memento Mori” by Natalie Buskohl won the “Best in Show” award at the 2014 Biorenewables Art Competition held by the Bioeconomy Institute. Buskohl, a senior in Integrated Studio Arts in Iowa State University’s College of Design, received a $750 prize. Her …Continue reading “Mixed Media Piece Wins Biorenewables Art Competition”
The engineering community lost a great teacher and researcher when Arthur E. Bergles (78) passed away March 17, 2014, of a malignant brain tumor. Bergles had a presence that made an impact across the country and was known for a career that advanced heat transfer methods and encouraged others to explore and push the boundaries …Continue reading “Remembering Art Bergles”
Written by Robert Mills Bioeconomy Institute A team headed by Robert Brown, BEI director, has been awarded a patent for bio-oil fractionation. “We have built much of our research around this technology,” Brown said. The patent, number US 8,476,480, was awarded in July 2013 to Brown; Samuel Jones, a former scientist with BEI’s Center for Sustainable …Continue reading “Brown and Team Awarded Patent Key to BEI Research”
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 …Continue reading “Bioeconomy Institute recognizes student, prepares for upcoming events”
The Midwest Aviation Sustainable Biofuels Initiative (MASBI) has announced its findings and recommendations to develop a sustainable aviation biofuels industry in the Midwest. It’s the result of a yearlong study by researchers representing 40-plus organizations across the aviation biofuels supply chain. The report is titled, “Fueling a Sustainable Future for Aviation 2013.” “The MASBI report …Continue reading “Iowa State contributes to report on Midwest path to aviation biofuels”
Two years into their work, leaders of the Dean’s Research Initiatives (DRIs) presented their progress in an open forum held April 22. In 2011, the College of Engineering established the initiative and awarded $500,000 to three interdisciplinary teams to help the groups pursue larger funding opportunities in important research areas. Initiative for a Carbon Negative …Continue reading “Dean’s Research Initiatives see successes in second year”
For the third consecutive year, Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering Robert Brown was ranked in the Top 100 People in Bioenergy by Biofuels Digest. This year, he rose to #47, after his rankings at #59 and #61, in 2012 and 2011, respectively. The list is voted on by Biofuels Digest readers and the newsletter’s editorial board. …Continue reading “Biofuels Digest honors Brown twice in 2012”
Three teams of Iowa State University researchers will use grants from the Iowa Energy Center to develop biorenewable technologies. All three projects involve the thermochemical conversion of biomass to biorenewable fuels, chemicals, and products. The grants are part of the center’s mission to improve energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Up to a three-year, $468,000 …Continue reading “Iowa Energy Center supports research aimed at building Iowa’s bioeconomy”
