The Emergence of a Bioeconomy
November 29, 2007
Robert Brown
Director, Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies (CSET), Iowa State UniversityThursday,
Brown
The bioeconomy will provide society with renewable sources of carbon and energy, in the process reducing our dependence upon imported petroleum and other fossil fuels. Despite the current enthusiasm for ethanol, other biofuels may also play a prominent role as advanced biorefineries are developed. Regardless of the approach to advanced biofuels, these biorefineries face four major barriers to successful commercialization: biomass supply; conversion efficiency; fossil fuel inputs; and determination of the optimal size for an economically viable biorefinery. This talk will review the technology options and the issues surrounding their commercial introduction.
