A bioscience Ames startup that produces renewable fuels has received a significant loan.

Ames’ Rise Energy was awarded a $50,000 Proof of Commercial Relevance loan from the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board on Jan. 19. The Story County company was one of six startups to receive money, including businesses in cities like Des Moines and Iowa City.

Rise Energy is commercializing a modular system that can deploy technology converting biomass into liquid renewable fuels and biochar, improving soil productivity and sequestering carbon.

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Registration Opens for Anaerobic Digestion on the Farm Conference, Nov. 6-8

Registration is open for the upcoming conference titled "Anaerobic Digestion on the Farm — Optimizing Environmental and Economic Outcomes for Rural Communities and Beyond," Nov. 6-8 2023, at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Early-bird rates are available through October 6.

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Iowa State University, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 and the University of Iowa have announced an upcoming conference: Anaerobic Digestion on the Farm: Optimizing Environmental and Economic Outcomes for Rural Communities and Beyond. The conference will be November 6-8, 2023, at the Scheman Building at the Iowa State Center in Ames, Iowa. Anaerobic digestion is the natural process in which microorganisms break down organic materials. "Anaerobic digestion offers many environmental and economic benefits," said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. "This conference will bring together government, academic, and private-sector experts, stakeholders, and interested parties to advance understanding of anaerobic digetion and policy implementation." 

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Iowa State University's Xianglan Bia is leading two, $2-million-plus projects that will study and develop new ways to break down waste plastics and convert them to useful materials. The U.S. Department of Energy is supporting both projects. 

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It is a Des Moines Register tradition to close out each year and open the next by introducing readers to 15 People to Watch — individuals expected to make an impact on Iowa in the coming year.This year's nominations from readers and our journalists totaled nearly 50 people and posed hard decisions for staff members charged with winnowing them to just 15. The final 15 include people in business and the arts, athletes, those who work to support farmers and refugees, those who are the first new elected officials to their seats in decades, and people educating new generations. Bioeconomy Institute's Co-Director, Lisa Schulte Moore, was selected as of of 15 People to Watch.

Creating Fertilizer from Corn Stover Podcast Featuring Dr. Robert Brown

Since 1934, The Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman has been Iowa’s leading agriculture news source, and today it has the largest readership of any ag newspaper in Iowa. On Episode 116 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast hosted Dr. Robert Brown, Co-Director of the Bioeconomy Institute to discuss a unique initiative to produce renewable energy, fertilizer and more from corn stover, while sequestering carbon. Listen to the podcast here!

Robert Brown has been brewing beer in his basement for over a decade now. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the distinguished professor at the Bioeconomy Institute has always enjoyed the science of the brewing process, along with the end product. So when he was approached about helping the Center for Crops Utilization Research he agreed, on the condition that he could also teach a course on the science of brewing beer. And with the help of an ISU alum involved in making brewing equipment, the center has a state-of-the-art facility for students to learn the process and history of making beer. Learn more!

The advantages of autothermal operation of chemical reactors are outlined in a recent prospective article by Robert C. Brown, director of the Bioeconomy Institute (BEI), Anson Marston Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Gary and Donna Hoover Chair in Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State University. The article will appear in the Nov. 18, 2020 edition of Joule, which publishes research, analysis, and ideas addressing the need for sustainable energy.