Colorado researchers gain grant for conversion of algae, switchgrass to syngas, fuel

A research team at the University of Colorado was awarded $1 million by the Department of Energy and USDA to develop a  solar-thermal chemical reactor to convert switchgrass and algae to synthetic gas. The team will concentrate sunlight to heat biomass to 2000 degrees, gasify the cellulose into syngas, and convert the gas of carbon oxides and hydrogen into hydrogen and liquid fuels.

Syngas background

Syntec Biofuel has announced that it would drop an upfront $250,000 licensing fee for its waste-to-ethanol process, in a bid to attract business from to corn-based ethanol producers hit by soaring feedstock prices. “Corn prices have killed any prospect that most of those using fermentation processes with grain feedstock can produce ethanol cost-effectively,” Syntec chairman and president Michael Jackson said. Syntec proposed a royalty arrangement for its thermonchemical catalysts, which convert wood chips, corn stalks, wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse and other non-food materials into biofuels.

In New Zealand, LanzaTech received a $12 million grant to research the biofuel potential of a process that uses bacteria to produce ethanol from carbon monoxide. The company will construct a pilot-scale plant that will be complete next year. The company said that its fuel could be used in blends up to 90 percent without adverse impact on engine performance. The New Zealand government also awarded a major grant to a university-based team that will research the production of syngas and renewable diesel from wood and agricultural residues.

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