Regardless of race, sexual orientation, origin or political affiliation, there is one thing students and faculty at Iowa State can agree on: The state of Iowa has corn — and lots of it. In addition to Iowa being known as the Hawkeye State, after the Sauk Indian Black Hawk, the state of Iowa is also …Continue reading “Ethanol debate asks: Is corn food or fuel?”
A national panel led by Iowa State University engineers is launching an effort to research and develop technologies that capture, use and sequester carbon while enhancing food production, ecosystems, economic development and national security. The 33-member National Panel for a Carbon Negative Economy recently met for the first time in Chicago. Participants represented universities, companies, federal agencies …Continue reading “Iowa State engineers establish national panel to advance a carbon negative economy”
Robert C. Brown wrote a guest column for the Des Moines Register that was published Oct. 7 in response to a National Academy of Science report. According to Brown, the report concludes that advanced biofuels made from cellulosic biomass (crop residues, grasses, and wood chips) will not be economically feasible without heavy subsidies or high petroleum …Continue reading “Brown responds to National Academy of Sciences report”
A mechanical engineering graduate student is bringing the Latin word renovo to life on Iowa State’s campus. Translated to English, renovo means to repair or restore, and it’s the underlying concept of Andrew Friend’s company Renovo Fuel Technologies. The company is based on Friend’s thesis research in renewable fuel. “We are hoping to market an …Continue reading “ME graduate student launches new company”
Prototypes of the biofuels refinery of the future sit in a 19,000-square-foot complex on the Iowa State Research Farm west of Ames. Two experimental plants, whose network of pipes and containers looks to the lay person like a microbrewery on steroids, produce oil from biomass such as corn stover, switchgrass, miscanthus, wood chips and algae.
Three new interdisciplinary research initiatives have been announced by the Iowa State University College of Engineering as part of an innovative program designed to compete for and win multi-million dollar grants, spur economic development, and drive technologies that benefit Iowa and the nation. The Dean’s Research Initiatives build public-private teams in the areas of the …Continue reading “Engineering forms interdisciplinary research teams aiming for major grants”
In an Iowa State Daily article that discusses the possibility of a new DuPont and Danisco cellulosic ethanol plant in Iowa, Robert Brown explains the difference in ethanol production processes. “What we call corn ethanol is produced from the corn grain, which is a starch material,” Brown said. “That is how we currently produce it …Continue reading “Brown weighs in on ethanol plant debate”
Biofuels Digest has released its “Top 100 People in Bioenergy” list, which includes Iowa Farm Bureau Director of the Bioeconomy Institute Robert C. Brown making the list at #61. View the entire list here.
Biofuels Digest has released its “Top 100 People in Bioenergy” list, which includes Iowa Farm Bureau Director of the Bioeconomy Institute Robert C. Brown making the list at #61. View the entire list here.
Associate Professor Christopher Williams was just trying to see if adding bio-oil to asphalt would improve the hot- and cold-weather performance of pavements. What he found was a possible green replacement for asphalt derived from petroleum.
Engineering researcher Robert Brown has learned firsthand about the promise of biochar as a way to improve soil. Read the full story. Find out more about biochar technology and what researchers are saying about it. Check out details of the biochar conference that took place at Iowa State on June 27-30.
