This technology not only provides markets for agricultural products and byproducts but also has the potential to rejuvenate a depressed forest industry in rural Georgia; two-thirds of the state is covered in forest. Georgia also leads the nation in poultry production, which results in huge quantities of chicken litter. UGA engineers are studying how a biorefinery could transform such revenue-streams-in-waiting into fuel for transportation, electricity and even natural gas.

It turns out that the greatest concentrations of biomass in the state occur in counties where local economies have been suffering the most. Retrofitting pulp and wood-product mills into forest biorefineries would provide new uses for the biomass while creating new jobs.

“Biorefineries, out of necessity, need to be distributed across the state, as the economic hauling distance for biomass is only about 40 miles,” said Adams, who initiated the University’s biorefinery research. “Geographically distributed production also has the advantage of providing fuel-supply security because that production is not concentrated in a few locations, as is the case with oil refineries.”

In 2006, UGA’s biorefinery will begin producing ethanol from waste flour, along with biodiesel from cotton seeds or animal fats, to power campus vehicles. In the future, Adams envisions sweet potatoes or other crops being used to make ethanol for Georgia’s cars and trucks. E-10 (a mix of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline) will be used for the UGA fleet of conventional cars. The university’s buses and diesel trucks will be fueled with B-20 (20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel). And as its fleets of cars and trucks wear out, they will be replaced by flexible-fuel vehicles that can run on E-85 (85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline). This plan also has great practicality: flexible-fuel vehicles require minimal changes at the manufacturing level and cost about the same as those powered by gasoline.

“It’s a no-brainer to use biofuels for UGA’s cars and trucks,” said Bill Fox, an agricultural economist and UGA fleet manager. “UGA will save approximately $100,000 in fuel costs by using E-10 and B-20.”

At a recent biofuels symposium sponsored by UGA’s Engineering Outreach Service, Helena Chum, a scientist with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, maintained that biomass fuels are the wave of the future. “In the same way that petroleum refineries transformed the 20th century, biofuels will transform the 21st century,” she said, noting that Georgia has the potential to be a leader in the transition from a petro-economy to a bio-economy.

“We have seen how the promise of biofuels has benefited the environment and the economy of Brazil,” said Adams. “There is no reason why we can’t do the same in Georgia.” Already, he added, “Industries are coming to our campus looking for local alternatives to gasoline, diesel and natural gas to reduce their energy costs and stay competitive.”

For more information contact Tom Adams at tadams@engr.uga.edu or K.C. Das at kdas@engr.uga.edu.