Olympia Update No
Olympia Update No. 5 •
October 18, 2006
WSU-PNNL-WSDA Joint Bioproducts Request
Fueling Washington With Bioproducts
From: Larry Ganders, Assistant to the President
Printable Adobe PDF Version
A $6.7 million
comprehensive research program that promotes manufacture of fuels
from Washington-grown crops and forest products was supported by President Lane Rawlins last week in discussions with the governor’s budget staff here in Olympia. The 2006
Legislature assisted new fuel plants being built in this state to relieve
reliance on foreign petroleum products. But some of these plants still rely on
palm oil and other “feedstock” materials imported from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Canada.
WSU
is just one of the entities involved in this project that will ask the 2007
Legislature and the governor to accelerate research that utilizes Washington products in Washington processing plants for sale to Washington consumers. In an
unprecedented partnership, this comprehensive bio-products technologies
strategy has been developed jointly by:
· Washington State University, the state’s land grant university with a scientific team that is
nationally prominent in bio-products. WSU has research teams in Biological
Systems Engineering, the Institute of Biological Chemistry, Wood Materials
Engineering Lab, and is among the top research universities in cereal grains.
· The
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which is managed by Battelle in Richland for the
U.S. Department of Energy. PNNL has 30 years of history working on biomass
conversion and production of fuels and chemicals and has about 25 staff engaged
in this research area.
· The
Washington State Department of Agriculture, the lead state agency for developing a bioenergy
industry in the state.
Much of the research efforts
will focus at or near WSU Tri-Cities, where the new Biological Sciences and Engineering Laboratory is now under
construction. It is jointly operated by WSU and PNNL. Also involved is the WSU
Extension Energy Programs office in Olympia.
Gov. Christine Gregoire and
her staff are currently considering whether to recommend this joint proposal to
the 2007 Legislature. In Olympia next week to discuss the proposal with the
governor’s staff are Ed Baker, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories process
science and engineering division director from Richland, and Ralph Cavalieri,
WSU’s lead on the bio-products issue and director of agricultural research. WSU
and PNNL researchers are also scheduled to speak on the proposal at the
upcoming biofuels conference at Columbia Basin College in Pasco next month.
Other discussions are
underway with the state Department of Ecology on ways to partner with that
agency on these issues.
The PNNL-WSU-WSDA package
seeks outcomes that are specifically detailed in the request:
1. Short term:
Washington-grown feedstocks. This proposal
seeks alternatives leveraged by federal dollars that would develop
Washington-grown feedstocks to be processed into fuel and other products by
in-state plants, and sold to Northwest consumers. Such feedstocks include
canola and other oilseeds, starchy crops such as wheat, barley and cull
potatoes. This research package will lead to short-term outcomes like
identifying three to five plants to serve as the fundamental feedstock base for
fuels in Washington, documenting oilseed crop performance in different climate
zones, demonstration of new products from starch-based biomass, more effective
conversion of glycerol from bio-diesel production.
2. Long term: Move toward
using cellulose for biofuels and bioproducts. Cellulosic
materials could include forest residue, wheat straw, corn stalks, orchard
trimmings, urban yard waste such as grass clippings, poplar trees, etc. These
materials could provide 3-4 times the energy as the energy expended to convert
them.
3. Advance the strategies
for “anaerobic digesters.” Anerobic
digesters use microorganisms to create gas that can power a generator to make
electricity. In order to maximize the advantages of anaerobic digesters. Such
strategies include improved anaerobic digestion technology and nutrient
recovery from digested dairy waste.
4. Make byproducts of the
processes above into high-value goods such as oils and plastics. Some of
these products may have a higher value than methane, ethanol, or biodiesel,
thus making the fuel products more cost-effective.
5. Educate a Washington workforce to design and
operate these emerging technologies.
The
2007 Legislative Request. Specifically, Washington State University requests
$4.7 million; and the Washington State Department of Agriculture and WSU
jointly request $2 million from the Legislature to:
· [WSU
request] Fund a system-wide Center for Bio-products and Bio-energy (CBB) at Washington State University led by a
director with exceptional experience and qualifications, desirably with
standing in the National Academy of Engineering or the National Academy of
Sciences. The CBB is the overarching program that links together the efforts
system-wide of WSU faculty, PNNL scientists, and the WSDA.
· [WSU
request] Provide $2 million in matching state funds to complete a team of ten
scientists in Tri-Cities that would have joint Washington State
University/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory appointments. These scientists would work on longer-term projects
(five years or more) but also have goals for short-term deliverables. The ten
scientists will occupy the new, jointly-funded (WSU and PNNL) Bioproducts
Science and Engineering Laboratory under construction on the campus of WSU
Tri-Cities. The request funds and supports five state Bioproducts faculty
scientist positions, which would be matched by the equivalent of five positions
funded by federal research programs through PNNL. These scientists will also
educate undergraduate and graduate students participating in research and
taking classes at WSU Tri-Cities.
· [WSU
request] Fill three critical gaps in state Bioproducts research capacity with
new Pullman-based scientists in metabolic engineering, microbiology and
molecular biology, and a crop scientist/Extension specialist. The cost is $1.1 million. Like the Tri-Cities-based
scientists, the three new Pullman scientists would either fill critical
technical gaps or enhance the critical mass of the existing expertise
identified collaboratively by WSU and PNNL. A metabolic engineer is needed to
understand how microorganisms can break down feedstock more efficiently. A crop
scientist is required to understand how to grow the proper crop to be converted
to fuel and other bio-products more efficiently.
· [WSDA-WSU
request] Conduct $2 million in pressing applied agronomic, economic and
engineering research on technology and cropping systems for more efficiently
growing oilseed and other energy crops and more economically converting these
and other biomass to fuel. These research projects, with short-term implications, would be directed by the
“Bioenergy Roadmap for Washington” which is currently being developed by WSU
and WSDA. The funding for this joint applied program would be passed to WSU
from WSDA. WSU will partner with PNNL to execute portions of this applied
research.
These efforts are consistent with the state’s
“The Biomass Inventory and Bioenergy Assessment” and “The Technology
Matrix/Assessment.”
Annie Van Scyoc Joins Government Relations Team
Annie Van Scyoc has joined the WSU government relations
team. For the past 14 years, she has worked for Olympic College, holding a
number of positions including executive assistant to the president in Bremerton. She also worked on the Poulsbo campus. She will be the full-time assistant to
Larry Ganders, who directs WSU’s government relations efforts. You can reach
her 360-956-2020 or Vanscyoca@energy.wsu.edu. Laurel le Noble will continue her
work with Larry as well as Jane Sherman, assistant vice provost, as
administrative coordinator. Laurel has worked with government relations for four
years. She can be reached at 360-956-2025 or lenoblel@energy.wsu.edu.
For a complete text of the WSU-PNNL-WSDA budget request, as it was
submitted to the governor, click here.
Olympia Update is produced for persons interested in state
government developments affecting Washington State University. For more
information call: Larry Ganders, Assistant to the President, 360-956-2165. From
WSU campuses, dial 8-2165. If you wish to subscribe to Olympia Update directly
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