More than 1 billion tons of biomass could be domestically converted into biofuels and products, say DOE. Biomass could displace 25% of U.S. petroleum use annually by 2030, keeping $260 billion in the United States, adding 1.1 million direct jobs, and reducing annual CO2 emissions by 450 million tons or 7% of U.S. energy emissions. All of that depends on feedstocks, and the DOE has two key programs in this area:
Feedstock Supply & Logistics. Works to reduce the cost, improve the quality, and increase the volume of sustainable feedstocks available for delivery to a biorefinery. and Advanced Algal Systems, which focuses on improving the productivity of algal biomass and enhancing the efficiency of cultivation and harvesting.
The DOE’s Steven Thomas gave this illuminating overview of DOE feedstocks-related R&D at ABLC 2017 in Washington DC.
