NCERC attends Industrial Biotechnology and AgTech Conference
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The NCERC attended the 2019
BIO World Congress
in Des Moines, Iowa from July 8-11. This year, the conference featured 928 attendees from 612 companies, more than 100 education sessions, and 1,905 BIO One-on-One partnering meetings.
This year's BIO World Congress theme was "Transform: The Future of Industrial Biotech + AgTech," areas of focus including Industrial Chemicals & Biobased Products, Renewable Fuels & Energy, Food & Feed Inputs, Nutrition & Wellness, Universities & Research Institutions, Research Technologies, and Regional/Economic Development.
NCERC Representation at the conference included Director of Research Dr. Yan Zhang, Grants & Contracts Associate Ida Hand and Communications & Outreach Specialist Claire Weinzierl.
"BIO World Congress serves as a great window to see the new development in biofuels and biochemicals from old collaborators, new colleagues and the rest of the world. The opportunity to network with potential collaborators is great," said Zhang.
BIO World Congress provides attendees with the opportunity to meet and network with over 900 global business leaders, investors and policy makers, to meet hundreds of innovative companies and start-ups and attend three action-packed days of compelling programming and exciting exhibits. Programs at BIO World Congress covered the latest in Agricultural Crop Technologies, Industrial Biotech including Synthetic Biology and Genetic Editing, Advanced Biofuels, Biobased Materials, Renewable Chemicals, Flavors, Fragrances and Food Ingredients, and Biomass Supply.
Next year's BIO World Congress will be held in Raleigh, North Carolina in September 2020.
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NCERC rendezvous with Congressional Members, Trade Associations and others in Washington D.C.
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Representation from the NCERC traveled to Washington D.C. from July 16-18 for a number of Congressional and Departmental meetings. The NCERC Team included Executive Director John Caupert and Director of Research Dr. Yan Zhang.
Caupert kicked off the visit to the nation's capital by visiting with U.S. Congressmen Rodney Davis, Mike Bost and John Shimkus to thank them for their unwavering support of ethanol.
Wednesday, July 17 was a big day for the NCERC Team as their morning was filled with meetings with the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA), U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The major topic of discussion during NCERC's meeting with the EPA focused on pathway approval for Renewable Identification Numbers for cellulosic ethanol. During meetings with USGC leadership, Caupert and Zhang described the collaborative projects that the NCERC is leading in the utilization of DDGS in aquaculture.
Caupert spent time with leadership of the Illinois Corn Growers Association and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) at the NCGA Corn Fest reception. Caupert also spent time on Capitol Hill with Grower Leaders from Illinois, visiting with U.S. Congressmen Bill Foster and Sean Casten. These visits focused primarily on the numerous benefits of ethanol as a High Octane, Low Carbon fuel.
While Zhang traveled back to NCERC, Caupert concluded his portion of the D.C. trip in meetings with U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth. Senator Durbin, a long time champion of both ethanol and NCERC, continuously demonstrates his support of the unparalleled collaborative research interests of NCERC. Senator Duckworth, a dear friend of the ethanol industry, proves to be a constant friend to both biofuels and agriculture.
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NCERC submits three Department of Energy BETO grant proposals
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The NCERC submitted three separate proposals this month for a Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) FY19 Funding Opportunity. NCERC Director of Research Dr. Yan Zhang and Assistant Professor of Chemistry/Fermentation Chemist Dr. Jie Dong were hard at work on the following grant proposals over the past few months.
Effects of an Efficient Storage and Transportation Method on the Stability and Characteristics of Corn Stover
In a collaboration between NCERC, Northern Illinois University and Chip Energy, Inc., this proposal was submitted to DOE requesting $1.5 Million.
The project describes a novel approach to storing, handling and transporting corn stover from field to biorefinery. The proposed technology would improve the long-term stability of the biomass and result in efficient conversion of structural polysaccharides to fermentable sugars with reduced need for pretreatment in the biorefinery. The physical and chemical characteristics of the biomass and the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of the resulting sugars will be determined as a function of time during storage in the intermodal shipping containers.
Cyclic Terpenes to Replace Aromatics in Aviation Fuel
In a collaboration with Lawrence Berkely National Lab, Sandia National Lab, U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NCERC submitted a proposal to DOE requesting $2 Million.
The goal of this project is to develop and evaluate limonene to replace aromatics and improve fuel performance. Cyclic terpenes, especially the monoterpene limonene, are promising candidates to replace aromatics and maintain seal integrity on existing and new aircraft. The project will also screen a range of cyclic terpenes as potential additional candidates for seal-swelling blendstocks. NCERC will scale up the fermentation process to 1000-Liter scale to produce approximately two gallons of isopentenol.
Continuous Production of Biobutanol in a Fibrous-bed-bioreactor with in situ Product Separation
In a collaboration with The Ohio State University, Bio-Missions LLC and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, NCERC submitted a proposal to DOE requesting $2 Million.
The goal of this project is to develop a novel fibrous-bed bioreactor with in situ product separation for continuous production of biobutanol from low-cost biomass at an economically competitive cost of ess than $2.50/gallon ($3.0/GGE) suitable for biofuel application. NCERC will optimize the hydrolysis process of corn stover and investigate the separation technology for downstream butanol recovery.
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The NCERC and CFAAS collaborate in fish feeding research project utilizing DDGS
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Throughout the past decade, the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (NCERC at SIUE) has spearheaded the establishment of the nutritional profile of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and their impact on animal feed.
Utilizing Illinois Corn Marketing Board checkoff funds, NCERC is participating in a new collaborative research project with the
Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences
(CFAAS) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), a world class research facility for both freshwater and marine sciences. The technical expertise involved in the project comes from NCERC Director of Research Dr. Yan Zhang and SIUC Assistant Professor of Aquaculture Dr. Karolina Kwasek.
The purpose of the collaborative project is to conduct a fish feeding trial in order to expedite the usage of DDGS as a common aquafeed ingredient in the United States, creating increased opportunity for more bushels of Illinois corn. The preliminary feeding trial will determine the maximum level of inclusion of DDGS produced by an Illinois-based ethanol plant in tilapia diets.
The team plans to execute a marketing campaign based on the results of the project to connect with U.S. aquaculture producers and aquafeed manufacturers. NCERC and CFAAS have put great efforts into the diet production and feeding material characterization for this research project, which is set to begin in August 2019.
For more information regarding the aquaculture project, please contact NCERC Communications & Outreach Specialist Claire Weinzierl at
cweinzierl@ethanolresearch.com
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See you at Farm Progress Show!
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Are you planning to attend this year's Farm Progress Show? Stop by and see the NCERC Team in either the Illinois Corn Growers tent or the Southern Illinois University Carbondale tent.
Representation from NCERC will include Executive Director John Caupert, Grants & Contracts Associate Ida Hand and Communications & Outreach Specialist Claire Weinzierl.
Be sure to stop by and learn about NCERC's role in the bioeconomy and other current projects!
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BIO World Congress
Des Moines, IA
July 8-10
NCGA Corn Congress
Washington D.C.
July 15-18
Future of Agriculture: Ask The Analysts
Carbondale, IL
July 16
2019 Illinois Farm Bureau Farm Income & Innovations Conference
Normal, IL
July 31
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Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) 2019 Annual Meeting
Louisville, KY
August 5-7
American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Conference
Omaha, NE
August 14-16
St. Louis Agribusiness Club Congressional Tour
NCERC
Edwardsville, IL
August 22
Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation - Fellows
NCERC
Edwardsville, IL
August 23
Farm Progress Show
Decatur, IL
August 27-29
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National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC)
400 University Park Drive, Edwardsville, IL 62025
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