The task of this laboratory focuses on developing analytical techniques and modeling tools needed to engineer advanced harvesting systems and equipment, technologies, sustainable requirements and practices, and to understand the relationships between the systems. Sustainability requirements are important because they dictate the ultimate viability of equipment, such as a bulk feedstock supply system, and the long-term success of harvesting practices. These improved systems and pieces of machinery will be capable of achieving the performance and reaching the cost targets that coincide with national feedstock supply data and analyses. The end use of this knowledge is crucial for ag industries and growers who want to design contemporary energy crop harvesting systems and equipment.
Research Goals
The varied goals of this research are to develop predictive models capable of identifying the impacts of agronomic and agribusiness practices — and environmental, social and political factors that impact feedstock sustainability; to identify the performance requirements and specifications for designing and implementing full scale harvesting equipment configurations; to demonstrate the capabilities of feedstock assembly and preprocessing systems; to reduce the cost of preprocessing with the dry feedstock supply system by increasing the efficiency and capacity of preprocessing equipment; to develop tools and models for predicting and mitigating the potential consequences associated with resource shifts caused by expanding U.S. food and fuel demands, and to meet or exceed feedstock cost, efficiency and quality targets set by the DOE’s Biomass Program.
Critical Linkages
The methods and tools developed through this research will link feedstock costs, quality, and sustainability metrics — of harvesting, preprocessing, bulk handling and storage systems — to downstream pretreatment, hydrolysis, and fermentation operations.
- Contact:
- Reuel Smith, (208) 526-3733, Send E-mail