Below are news stories related to NREL biomass research.
Are mid-level ethanol fuel blends a feasible solution for meeting U.S. renewable fuel goals? This question is driving a DOE-sponsored study to test the viability of using E15 and E20—gasoline blended with 15% and 20% ethanol—in conventional vehicles to meet the national renewable fuel standard (RFS) goal of 36 billion gallons per year by 2022.
Through a cooperative research and development agreement, NREL and DuPont worked closely coming up with new biomass-to-ethanol processes and equipment designs. About a year and a half ago, the NREL-DuPont project scaled up from the lab and was successfully tested at the NREL Alternative Fuels User Facility pilot plant. Bringing the project to this size and scale often required 24/7 collaboration with both teams working side-by-side.