Dec. 16, 2008
Researchers Guay and Singsaas receive
$200,000 for ongoing biofuels research
UWSP Professors Don Guay of paper science and engineering, and
Eric Singsaas of biology and forestry, received a $200,000
grant as part of a collaborative research project between
UWSP, UW-Superior, and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory
that will support UWSP’s ongoing biofuels research program
spearheaded by Guay and Singsaas.
“We are determined to be a major research player in solving
Wisconsin’s conversion toward a biofuel produced from wood
and/or forest waste byproducts,” said Guay. “Our research
at the UWSP Wisconsin Institute for Sustainability (WIST)
may give the state’s aging paper mills a renewed mission in
energy generation while keeping many paper mill employees on
the job.”
According to Guay and Singsaas, their research will utilize
technologies developed to manufacture chemical pulp to promote
enzymatic saccharification (separation) of pulp and paper
industry wood cellulose into fermentable sugars.
“Our objective is to provide the highest yield of glucose possible
from wood or forest-related waste-based cellulose,” said Singsaas.
“We’ve combined our biofuels research objectives from the joint
perspectives of a chemical engineer and a plant biologist. We
remain convinced we are very close to creating viable application
options to turn paper and forest waste into a highly efficient,
marketable biofuel in the coming months, not years.”
Much of the $200,000 grant will be used to purchase laboratory
equipment as well as for hiring student researchers, according
to Singsaas.
“We are extremely grateful for collaborative research support from
UW-Superior and the U.S. Army,” said Guay. “The timing of this
grant support is propitious as we move into the final research
phases of this momentous biofuels research project.
Singsaas’ biofuels research is directed toward “creating a biochemical
pathway where terpenoids (isoprene, for example) could be used in the
manufacture of noncarcinogenic products ranging from fuel for your
automobile to rubber for your sneakers.” Guay’s research focuses on
using enzymes to release the glucose from wood or forestry waste and
then convert it into a highly efficient biofuel.
A native of Appleton, Guay is a 1996 UWSP paper science graduate and
holds a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Maine.
Prior to joining the UWSP faculty in 2004, he worked as a technical
manager for Integrated Paper Services in Appleton.
Singsaas received his bachelor’s of arts degree from Concordia College
in Moorhead, Minn., and his doctorate from UW-Madison. He came
to UWSP in 2001.
