Mississipi State University receives federal grant for biomass project

Mississippi State University has received a grant from the US National Institute of Food and Agriculture for over $610,000 (€558,000) to take foundational steps toward producing viable fuels from agricultural waste.

The grant was awarded to El Barbary Hassan, department professor and scientist in the university’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center.

Hassan and his team, including postdoctoral researcher Islam Elsayed, 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.

Over the three-year grant period, the scientists will work on creating and refining these chemicals derived from sugars present in the biomass.

“Increasing our use of biomass-based fuels keeps agricultural waste out of landfills and reduces carbon dioxide emissions,” said Hassan. “Today, the waste that doesn’t end up in a landfill is burned, so capturing that biomass for future use will reduce air emissions in several ways.”

Hassan explained the carbohydrates from biomass material are ideal for producing liquid biofuel additives because of their high energy densities and blending properties in normal diesel fuel. The chemical substance he and his team are focused on has energy properties similar to gasoline, which are also 40% greater than those of ethanol.

“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,” he said. “The United States has set a goal to replace 30% of its current petroleum consumption with sustainable fuels by that time.”