Improving logistics of biofuel raw materials

EurekAlert!
Public release date: 17-Feb-2012
Michigan State University

MSU research looks for ways to improve shipping of materials for biofuels

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — If the increased use of biomass to produce alternative fuels is to become a reality, more attention needs to be paid to logistics – how, for example, biomass raw materials are shipped from farm to refinery, as well as the development of better ways of preparing the products for shipping.

This is a subject being tackled by Michigan State University's Bruce Dale, a professor of chemical engineering and materials science, and is the topic of a symposium at this year's annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Feb. 16-20 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Dale is suggesting a new model for getting the plant material to the biofuel production facility, or the biorefinery. The new model uses something called regional biomass processing depots – strategically located facilities that will process the biofuel feedstocks before they are shipped to a refinery.

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