Plant-based fuel is aim of Center for Renewable Carbon

knoxvillebiz.com
By Larisa Brass
Knoxville News Sentinel
Posted February 8, 2011 at midnight

New University of Tennessee labs are to bring together research projects that work toward replacing petroleum products with renewable counterparts.

The Center for Renewable Carbon was unveiled Friday and will focus on the potential of plants to replace energy sources such as petroleum fuel, chemicals and materials made from oil-based sources, said Tim Rials, director of the center. The center will allow university researchers such as plant geneticists, microbiologists, chemists and transportation economists working with bioenergy crops and biomass-based products to collectively tackle problems, Rials said.

'The Center for Renewable Carbon was established really to help us get a handle on coordinating the broader bioenergy, biofuels and biomass program … where we've had a lot of isolated work' going on across campus, Rials said. 'We're very interested in seeing that become increasingly integrated.'

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