Central to the plan is aligning
agriculture and other business
interests to finance and construct
biorefineries and to create value
chains that result in biofuels
that are competitively priced
with petroleum-based fuels. As
a result, the project is designed
to optimize profits to growers
where feedstock sourcing occurs,
the crushing plants where raw oil
is extracted and the biorefiner-
ies where fuel production takes
place.
Uniquely, it also includes a
strong outreach and commercial-
ization component designed to
identify and address the concerns
of farmers and allied agricultural
service providers.
As principle director of the
large, complex interdisciplinary
effort, Isbell said he is already
thinking forward to the many
scientific challenges to be ad-
dressed and blended and the
multiple feedback loops required
to optimize each phase of the
project. Progress and results are
monitored and evaluated every
six months during the four-year
period, including an assessment
of the progress towards complet-
ing specific milestones, he added.
“
This really isn’t a closed-end
project,” he noted. “The next
four years and the discoveries we
make are really just the beginning
of what will likely be long-term
relationships and multiple
spin-off projects. What we’re
doing is laying the foundation
for long-term impact; cost and
performance competitive fuels
from renewable resources, and a
stronger rural economy.”
Kate O’Hara is NCAUR Deputy
Director, External Relations. She is
based at the Peoria Ag Lab.
Terry Isbell, left, and Steve Cermak, chemists at the Peoria Ag Lab, are shown working in the oilseed research pilot
plant lab. The Ag Lab is formally known as National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research established by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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thePeorian.com
