BE/MUSES: Renewable Energy from Forest Resources: An Investigation into the Viability of Large-Scale Production of Sustainable Transportation Fuels From Lignocellulosic Biomass

0524872麦克林 这个生物复杂性在环境/材料用途：科学，工程和社会项目的目的是调查技术，生态，社会，经济和政治问题与木质纤维素为基础的乙醇生产，以确定可行性作为替代生物燃料。该研究项目将使用严格的定量建模方法来研究与上五大湖地区木质纤维素生物燃料产业发展相关的多个、相互关联、复杂且往往相互冲突的问题。美国的能源政策应该是，而且一直致力于减少和用可行的国内替代品取代外国石油来源。 由木质纤维素来源制成的乙醇可以提供独特的环境，经济和战略效益。 木质纤维素乙醇几乎不排放净温室气体，而且是一种可再生资源，无需重新种植即可再生。 该项目在MTU可持续未来研究所的主持下，加入了MTU的跨学科研究团队，该团队具有生态经济学，自然资源社会学，空间统计学，地理信息系统，保护生物学，森林和景观生态学，造林学，化学工程和机械工业工程的专业知识。 项目成果包括：（1）对研究区域木质纤维素生物燃料行业的可行性进行可行性评估;（2）开发和应用基于定量的决策支持工具，以推进生物复杂性研究，并对新兴生物燃料行业具有更广泛的适用性。 本科生和研究生将参与研究的各个方面。 创新的非正式和K-12科学教育活动将针对从成人学习者到美洲原住民小学生的不同受众。这项研究的预期社会影响是显著的，因为从长远来看，继续使用不可再生的化石燃料进行运输是不可持续的，这种生物燃料可能提供一种替代方案，以有效地使未来的能源供应多样化。

0524872 Maclean This objective of this Biocomplexity in the Environment / Materials Use: Science, Engineering, and Society project is to investigate the technological, ecological, social, economic, and political issues associated with lignocellulosic-based ethanol production to determine viability as an alternative biofuel. The research project will use rigorous quantitative modeling approaches to study the multiple, interrelated, complex, and often conflicting issues associated with the development of a lignocellulosic biofuel industry in the Upper Great Lakes region. U.S. energy policy should be and is committed to reducing and replacing foreign sources of petroleum with viable domestic alternatives. Ethanol made from lignocellulosic sources could provide unique environmental, economic, and strategic benefits. Lignocellulose ethanol emits virtually no net greenhouse gases, and it is a renewable resource that regenerates without replanting. This project, under the auspices of MTU's Sustainable Futures Institute, joins an interdisciplinary research team from MTU with expertise in ecological economics, natural resource sociology, spatial statistics, geographic information systems, conservation biology, forest and landscape ecology, silviculture, chemical engineering, and mechanical-industrial engineering. Project outcomes include (1) a feasibility assessment of the viability of a lignocellulosic biofuel industry in the study region, and (2) the development and application of quantitatively based decision support tools that will advance biocomplexity studies and have potential broader applicability for emerging biofuel industries. Undergraduate and graduate students will participate in all aspects of the research. Innovative informal and K-12 science education activities will target diverse audiences ranging from adult learners to Native American elementary students. The expected societal impact of this research is significant, given that the continued use of non-renewable fossil fuels for transportation is unsustainable in the long-term, and this biofuel may provide one alternative to effectively diversify the energy supply of the future.