Kevin Stearns/University Photography

Behind Professor Larry Walker is a large bale of switchgrass, one of several possible alteernative fuel sources. Copyright © Cornell University

In his State of the Union speech last month, U.S. President George W. Bush expressed his commitment to funding research and development of alternative fuel sources. Cornell University is one of five Sun Grant Centers of Excellence -- regional hubs already at the forefront of researching the use of plant biomass in energy and chemical production -- and is in an excellent position to advance its leadership role in these areas.

Larry Walker, professor of biological and environmental engineering, is director of the Northeast Sun Grant Institute of Excellence, based at Cornell, which serves 14 states and the District of Columbia, from Maine to Maryland to Michigan. He recently answered some questions about this increasingly hot topic.

Q: How do you define biofuels?

A: Biofuels are fuels that are produced from plant materials, such as corn or grasses, and organic wastes, such as animal wastes.

Q: What are the main sources of biofuels, and what's the process for turning them into usable energy sources?

A: Currently, ethanol produced from corn in the United States is the largest renewable energy source surpassing hydroelectric power. Recently, there has been a focus on converting biomass to liquid fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, and to such gaseous fuels as hydrogen and methane. Traditionally, heat production from the combustion of wood and crop residues represents approximately 10 percent of the global energy usage.

Q: President Bush mentioned switchgrass in his State of the Union speech. What is it, why is it a viable biofuel source and how is it turned into fuel?

A: Switchgrass is a tall native perennial grass widely distributed across the country. It has approximately the same energy content as wood and approximately two-thirds that of coal. Thus, direct combustion of switchgrass is one option for liberating the energy content of switchgrass and using it as a fuel.

Q: How are Cornell researchers examining switchgrass?

A: One way of extracting energy from switchgrass is to make pellets from it and burn it, which is the approach that Jerry Cherney, professor of crops and soil science, and his colleagues at Cornell are taking.

Another group of Cornell researchers is interested in producing low-cost sugars from switchgrass that can be fermented to ethanol and other valuable chemicals. They are working on pretreating switchgrass to make it more susceptible to enzymatic conversion to sugars for subsequent fermentation to ethanol and industrial chemicals. I'm working on this with Jim Gossett, who's taking the lead, and Deborah Sills, both in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, as well as molecular biologist David Wilson.

Q: What is Cornell's role in biofuels research?

A: When I started at Cornell in the early 1980s, William Jewell of my department was doing some exciting biomass research on anaerobic digestion for methane production, and Robert Finn, chemical engineering, was working on fermentation technology.

Realizing that such global trends as energy security and climate change were driving renewed interest in biofuels, a group of approximately 20 Cornell professors came together in 2000 to explore some of the research and education opportunities associated with this renewed interest. We called ourselves the "Sustainable Agriculturally-based Bio-Industry Cluster" [SABBIC]. This became the core group that developed a successful grant application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a multidisciplinary graduate, education and training program on sustainable biobased industries. Also, SABBIC has been core to developing the vision and defining the activities for our Sun Grant Initiative.

Q: President Bush's recent budget proposal includes the "Advanced Energy Initiative," which looks to increase funding for renewable technologies, such as biofuels, solar energy and hydrogen power along with "clean coal" and nuclear power. How do you see this shift in funding impacting biofuels research and application?

A: It is good to see that President Bush recognizes that the country must address its dependency on foreign oil and that he realizes that biofuels are part of the answer. The challenge will be directing significant federal dollars to biofuels and other renewable energy research and development activities at a time of a major federal budget deficit and other budget priorities. Many of my biofuels colleagues around the country and I believe that we need a renewable energy initiative that is on par with the Manhattan Project to address the nation's energy and economic security. It will take leadership from the president and Congress to make this happen.

Q: In light of this new push for renewable energy by the federal government, what role do you see for Cornell as a Sun Grant Center of Excellence?

A: Cornell and the Northeast Sun Grant Institute of Excellence can play a major role in biofuels research and development. We have many of the scientific and engineering fields to address the agricultural and industrial biotechnology challenges and opportunities.

In addition, we have environmental and social scientists across campus to help us explore how these biofuels should be deployed to support economic and human development. Given the strong biological science and engineering capacity here at Cornell, I would hope that our institute will play a leading role in agricultural and industrial biotechnology and in sustainable integrated systems/industrial ecologies.

Q: At the state level, New York Gov. George E. Pataki said he will "propose a plan to jump-start a new era of statewide availability and use of renewable fuels -- ensuring that more of our energy dollars stay right here in New York." Is there work being done at Cornell that already ties into the governor's and president's visions?

A: Gov. Pataki's message regarding the future of biofuels in New York state puts the country on notice that New York has an interest in being a major player in biofuels technical and economic development. Too often the national biofuels initiative is portrayed as a Midwest farm subsidies program as opposed to an initiative that all parts of the country can participate in. Gov. Pataki also is sending a message that New York is serious enough about this leadership role to invest in biofuels research and development. A third message is that the biofuels initiative is creating economic opportunities for rural New York. All biomass is local. Finally, Gov. Pataki realizes that informed tax and economic development policies can stimulate the development of a new industry. Despite this message it will take a partnership between the governor and the legislative bodies to jump-start the biofuels initiative in New York state.

Aaron Goldweber is a writer in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences