STARKVILLE, Miss. - The future of fuel is practical, sustainable and green, and Mississippi State University’s Department of Sustainable Bioproducts is committed to discovering solutions that will power tomorrow’s fuels.
El Barbary Hassan, department professor and scientist in the university’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center, has received a National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant totaling over $610,000 to take foundational steps toward producing viable fuels from agricultural waste.
Today, over 90% of the energy consumed worldwide comes from fossil fuels - a finite resource with often volatile prices. With concerns about environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels, scientists are looking to a myriad of viable renewable energy sources.
Hassan's team of experts aim to convert leftover biomass from agricultural production - refuse or waste that would otherwise be discarded - into useful chemical substances, building blocks for fuels and other chemicals that would typically come from petroleum-based sources.
Across the 3-year grant period, the scientists will work on creating and refining these chemicals derived from sugars present in the biomass.
Over the next half century, biomass energy is expected to provide up to 40% of global energy consumption. This renewable resource is more readily available, and its pricing is lower and less vulnerable to fluctuations than fossil fuels.
The waste-derived fuel that Hassan’s team is working on will contribute to that goal and also reduce global carbon dioxide emissions.
“By using the millions of tons of biomass that would otherwise go to waste from farming and forestry activities, we could potentially replace a significant portion of our transportation fuel with more sustainable alternatives in the coming years,” Hassan explained.
Agricultural states, like Mississippi, have much to gain from these efforts. Farmers and foresters can see additional sources of revenue from selling their waste products, and the need for processing and refining these biofuels should create jobs nationwide.
For more information about MSU’s Department of Sustainable Bioproducts, visit www.bioproducts.msstate.edu.
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