U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) ) – a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee – announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will award The Ohio State University (OSU) up to $2 million to develop cost-effective technologies for producing fuel from biomass. OSU researchers will explore a more efficient process of converting biomass to synthetic gas, which is then run through a turbine to create electricity. This project that will potentially reduce capital costs of producing synthetic gas by 44 percent, making it cheaper to turn biomass into fuel.
“Ohio State has launched some of the nation’s most important sustainable energy research,” Brown said. “Their important work will continue to support the production of a home-grown, clean energy sources. This federal investment will help make bioproducts and biofuels a more economic choice, spurring economic development and paving the way for future growth.”
Brown has been a longtime advocate of biobased manufacturing and biofuel production and its potential to create jobs, produce clean energy, and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The Farm Bill included provisions modeled after Brown’s "Grow it Here, Make it Here" Initiative, aimed at strengthening the biobased products industry by expanding markets and creating jobs.
Nearly half of the U.S.’s biodiesel supply – which burns more cleanly than oil and allows the U.S. to diversify its fuel production – is produced using soybean oil. In 2012, Ohio ranked sixth in the nation for soybean production – yielding $5.3 billion in economic impact. In April 2014, the Ohio Soybean Association named Brown Legislator of the Year for his work advocating for soybean farmers.
Source:usda.gov