Researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) received a $1.7 million grant from the federal government to work with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center to study the environmental benefits and consequences of cellulosic biofuel crops.
According to excerpts from the article:
The Department of Energy awarded a total of $8.1 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to the center, which includes partners University of Wisconsin-Madison and MSU. About half of that money will be used to enhance and accelerate sustainability research, and the other half will research plant cell wall imaging technology.
The money allocated to biofuel sustainability research will be used to study carbon cycling, water quality and greenhouse gas emissions associated with biofuel cropping systems, as well as develop more complex modeling technology, said Phil Robertson, MSU professor of crop and soil sciences who leads GLBRC sustainability research.
“Quantitative models, together with the underlying field research, will allow us to design biofuel cropping systems that are both profitable and environmentally sustainable," he said. "We need to ensure the crops we’ll be using for cellulosic energy do in fact contribute to climate stabilization and cleaner air and water, as well as provide biodiversity benefits such as habitat for birds and beneficial insects.
Read the entire article here.
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