(117n) Biorefinery

A renewed interest in sustainable energy raw material sources and technologies emerged during 1990's due mainly to environmental, geopolitical and national security concerns. The growing awareness of the contribution of traditional fuel usage to climate changes has prompted sustainable energy commercial developments especially in wind, photovoltaic, and biofuels markets. The latter is led by bioethanol and biodiesel. A Biorefinery is defined as ?a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, or chemicals from biomass?. The Biorefinery Research Center objective is to develop the conversion of biomass to 6 Fs markets. This includes Food, Feed, Feedstock, Fuel, Fiber and Fertilizer. At the Biorefinery Research Center and affiliated laboratories the emphasis is to develop and implement a biobased products portfolio. This includes lignocellulose based ethanol, microalgae derived jet fuel, food colorants, etc. Why use microalgae? Using microalgae to produce biodiesel will not compromise production of food, fodder and other products derived from crops. Algae can produce 20 times more oil per acre, compared to the current crops now utilized for bio-fuels production. Algae bio-fuel is eco-friendly also in the sense that it contains no sulfur. It is non-toxic and highly biodegradable. Between 1 and 3% of the total U.S. cropping area would be sufficient for producing algal biomass that satisfies 50% of the transport fuel needs. Unlike other oil crops, microalgae grow extremely rapidly and many are exceedingly rich in oil. The research focus will be targeting and developing local biomaterials due to the isolated nature of the island and potential implications. Puerto Rico's agricultural sector produces approximately 25,000 tons of Red Spanish variety pineapples per year. In conclusion, Use of the Biorefinery concept and advances engineering will further lower the cost of production. In conclusion the cost of producing microalgal biodiesel can be reduced substantially by using a Biorefinery. A microalgal Biorefinery can simultaneously produce biodiesel, animal feed, biogas and electrical power. Algae are the best source for the production of oils for biodiesel. It is the only renewable biodiesel that can potentially completely displace liquid fuels derived from petroleum. Algae cultivation is the best alternative for land limited areas like Puerto Rico. Producing low-cost microalgae biodiesel requires primarily improvements to algal biology through genetic and metabolic engineering.