(26e) : Forest-Based Biomass to Biofuels Research at the Usda Forest Service

Biomass and biofuels research at the USDA Forest Service is directed and driven by several Presidential goals, enacted legislations and our Chief's focus areas. Among them, the President's biofuels goals of replacing 30% of current (2004) gasoline use with biofuels by 2030 and reduce gasoline use by 20% in 10 years (2017). The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) sets an increasing schedule of biofuels usage with the eventual target of 37 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022. Out of the 37 billion gallons of biofuels in the 2022 goal, 22 billion gallons must come from advanced biofuels such as fuels from lignocellulosics. The Forest Service is the only federal agency with mission goals that encompasses research in forestry and in forest products including conversion to biofuels. Our research strategically targets key issues in the biofuels production chain. These key areas of research include energy crop production and management research, feedstock harvesting and collection research, conversion technologies research and economic assessment. The results of our research contribute to our nation's alternative fuel goals and add value to underutilized wood fiber. The latter contribution will also provide incentives for forest managers to remove unwanted biomass in forest fire protection operations, forest restoration operations and forest health improvement operations.