Creating a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Laboratory at Auburn University
Auburn University has a long history of extensive research and education efforts focused on biomass production and bioenergy. In 2006, a major initiative was launched to focus those various efforts across the university into a comprehensive program aimed at creating biofuel technologies that are cost competitive with petroleum-based fuels. Through this initiative, Auburn is investing significant resources into major equipment acquisitions, as well as into research and outreach in biochemical and thermochemical conversion of biomass to liquid fuels, power, and other high-value products.
The newly created Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts, under the auspices of the Auburn University Natural Resources Management & Development Institute, plans to create a comprehensive Bioenergy and Bioproducts Laboratory which will allow these research and education activities to occur in one location combining all aspects of research, from feedstock production and processing, through biofuel conversion to biofuel testing. The laboratory will attract creative faculty, staff, and students from across campus, the nation and the world. It will also draw entrepreneurs throughout the state and region interested in partnering with Auburn University to create products and solve problems. Located on the Auburn campus and adjacent to the Auburn Research Park, the laboratory will assist in drawing potential tenants to the park, where their proximity will facilitate collaboration.
The Bioenergy and Bioproducts Laboratory will serve to create an extraordinary synergistic environment where the best minds—on and off the Auburn University campus—can leverage their expertise and creativity to advance significant areas of energy study. With state-of-the-art design, the laboratory will house individual areas for feedstock processing, biomass fractionation, fermentation, gasification, distillation, and biofuel testing. Creative spaces will be included to stimulate innovation among faculty, students, and entrepreneurs. Additionally, the Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts will team scientists, engineers, economists, industrial designers, business planners, and others to take research results from the laboratory into local communities in order to provide hands-on solutions to today’s energy challenges.
The Bioenergy and Bioproducts Laboratory at Auburn University will be a unique research and education component of the infrastructure needed to meet the United States’ critical energy goals. Not only will the laboratory foster the development of new energy technologies, but it will educate the next generation of engineers and scientists needed to implement them.
