Iowa State University’s Biorenewables Research Laboratory (BRL) building is a visible “front door” to its many diverse and broad-reaching programs in biorenewables. The facility complements and replaces labs and offices previously located across campus and provides affiliated faculty and staff a physical environment that promotes interdisciplinary, systems-level research and collaboration, including laboratory, meeting and teaching space for both graduate and undergraduate students. Construction was made possible through an appropriation from the state of Iowa.
First Floor
The hall entry offers a striking view of the bench- and high-bay pilot-scale facilities, which house research projects focused on the thermochemical and hybrid thermochemical/biological conversion of biomass.
The administrative offices of the Bioeconomy Institute and the Center for Biorenewable Chemicals (CRiRC) are located on this floor.
Second Floor
The second floor is dedicated to emerging research programs in chemical catalyst design and reaction engineering, supporting initiatives at the Center for Biorenewable Chemicals (CBiRC) and the Bioeconomy Institute.
Third Floor
The third floor spaces expand the research and development capacity of thermochemical conversion of biomass into fuels, chemicals, and energy. Bench-scale research technologies in these laboratories include fast pyrolysis, gasification, torrefaction, and characterization of bio-oil and biochar at the Bioeconomy Institute.
Fourth Floor
The fourth floor provides innovative laboratories and an interaction space for biocatalysis and microbial metabolic engineering, two research thrusts of the Center for Biorenewable Chemicals (CBiRC).
