Due to the economics, politics and environmental impacts of petroleum use, there is growing interest in the use of biomass to partially replace petroleum as an energy source. However, in order to utilize biomass as a feedstock for the production of fuel or chemical products, its structure needs to be significantly altered to facilitate the efficient completion of downstream steps. This alteration typically is achieved by different pretreatment technologies, which usually involve temperature and pH extremes. The severity of these pretreatment conditions results in increased cost, loss of useful product, and inhibition of downstream steps. This project will evaluate the technical feasibility of the use of novel plant proteins, known as expansins, to reduce the severity of biomass pretreatment conditions. In Phase I, a parametric evaluation of processing conditions will be conducted to assess the utility of expansins in the dilute acid pretreatment of corn stover.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The technology should further the nations effort to develop and execute an alternative energy plan based upon renewable energy sources.
