Bioeconomy Institute

The following reading list is a good source of introductory material on the production of energy, fuels, chemicals, and materials from biorenewable resources. For reports that are in the public domain, links to downloadable PDF files are provided. For copyrighted journal papers, links are provided to the homepage of the publishing company, which will let you download a copy of the paper for a fee if you are not affiliated with an institution that has an agreement with the publisher for accessing these papers.

We welcome suggestions for including links to other useful resource materials, especially review papers in the public domain. Please send your suggestions to our webmaster at: elyceiastate.edu

Anaerobic Digestion

• Anaerobic digestion of organic solid wastes. An overview of research achievements and perspectives
• Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a review 

Biomass Crops

• Miscanthus
• Switchgrass

Biopolymers

• Techno-economic Feasibility of Large-scale Production of Bio-based Polymers in Europe
• Green Plastics: An Introduction to the New Science of Biodegradable Plastics
• Biopolymer Market Analysis

Biorefineries

• Renewable Energy in Agriculture: Back to the Future?
• ACS Symposium Papers - Biorefineries -- Renewable Fuels and Chemicals

Combustion and Co-firing

• Combustion properties of biomass
• Highlights of the Biopower Technical Assessment: State of the Industry and the Technology

Ethanol

• Issues and Opportunities Related to the Production and Marketing of Ethanol By-Products
• Evolution of Renewable Energy Policy
• Renewable Liquid Fuels: Current Situation and Prospects
• Bioenergy Production with Biomass: What Are the Prospects?
• Bringing Biofuels to the Pump
• Determining the Cost of Producing Ethanol from Corn Starch and Lignocellulosic Feedstocks
• Energy and Environmental Aspects of Using Corn Stover for Fuel Ethanol
• Evaluation of Pretreatments of Biomass for Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulose
• Overview and evaluation of fuel ethanol from cellulosic biomass: Technology, economics, the environment, and policy

Fast Pyrolysis/Bio-Oil

• Review of the Chemical and Physical Mechanisms of the Storage Stability of Fast Pyrolysis Bio-Oils
• Overview of Applications of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis Oil
• Fast pyrolysis processes for biomass

Feedstock Issues

• Biomass as Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply
• Biomass and Agriculture: Sustainability, Markets and Policies
• Bioproducts: Developing New Products from Agricultural Commodities
• Lignocellulosic Feedstock Resource Assessment

Fuels and Chemicals from Syngas

• Preliminary Screening -- Technical and Economic Assessment of Synthesis Gas to Fuels and Chemicals with Emphasis on the Potential for Biomass-Derived Syngas
• Exploration of the possibilities for production of Fischer Tropsch liquids and power via biomass gasification
• Top Value Added Chemicals from Biomass - Volume 1

Gasification

• Life Cycle Assessment of a Biomass Gasification Combined-Cycle System
• Technical and economic feasibility of biomass gasification for power generation
• Review of the Literature on Catalytic Biomass Tar Destruction: Milestone Completion Report

Lipids and Biodiesel

• Biodiesel production: A review
• Production of Biodiesels from Multiple Feedstocks and Properties of Biodiesels and Biodiesel/Diesel Blends
• Biomass Oil Analysis: Research Needs and Recommendations

Overviews

• Developing New Energy Sources from Agriculture
• ACS Meeting News: Green Polymer Field Blossoming
• Energy Revolution: a sustainable pathway to a clean energy future for Europe
• Office of the Biomass Program Technical Plan Summary
• Emerging Technologies for Materials and Chemicals from Biomass
• Growing Energy - How biofuels can help end America's oil dependence
• Chemical analysis of biomass
• Fostering the Bioeconomic Revolution in Biobased Products and Bioenergy: An Environmental Approach
• Nanotechnology for the Forest Products Industry—Vision and Technology Roadmap
• Biorenewable Resources: Engineering New Products from Agriculture
• Faculty/Staff Startup Guide for technology-based businesses: Making the transition from research to a commercial enterprise
• Industrial Bioproducts: Today and Tomorrow
• Cultivating a New Rural Economy: Assessing the Potential of Minnesota's Bioindustrial Sector