Faculty member Sushil Adhikari and doctoral student Nourredine Abdoulmoumine have  developed a portable, compact and fully lab-scale integrated system that can be used in conducting pyrolysis and gasification research. It is a valuable and rapid screening tool that can be used to assess the potential of various biomass feedstocks for biofuels and bioenergy production, including, pine, canola cake and a mixture of poultry litter and pine. It is currently being used to investigate the potential of southern pine as a feedstock for the future biofuels and bioenergy industry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Electric Power Research Institute and the Southeastern SunGrant has funded the systematic investigation of process variables on producing clean synthesis gas and “drop-in” liquid fuels from regionally appropriate biomass types. Investigators on this project also include Steven Taylor and Oldiran Fasina from the department, and Chris Roberts and Mario Eden from Auburn’s Department of Chemical Engineering.