The Ohio State University (OSU) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) “will split $3 million” from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) “to study more efficient ways to use biomass for energy,” Columbus Business First reports. The funding is part of “$10 million of projects overall designed to promote biofuel and bioenergy research.” Researchers at OSU are trying to find “a more efficient way to turn biomass, or plant and animal waste, into synthetic gas,” according to the article. If they can develop a way to do this in a single step, it could “reduce capital costs for (synthetic gas) production by 44 percent compared to conventional purposes.” Last year, biomass accounted for 1.6 percent of energy production in the U.S., ahead of solar (0.6 percent) but behind wind (4.7 percent). Unlike renewable energy from sources such as wind and solar, however, biomass can be made into “liquid fuels like ethanol and biodiesel.” For more, read the full article.
OSU and MIT granted $3 million in federal funding to research biomass as energy source
