Workshop to Cover Biomass Conversion Apps

A workshop on biomass conversion will be hosted at Heartland Community College in Normal, Ill. on March 11-12, 2010. The workshop will discuss practical uses for biomass conversion for heat and electricity and supply chain issues to feed future diversified needs for biomass as markets emerge.

The workshop, titled “The Biomass Conversion to Heat & Electricity Workshop: Molding Today”s Technology for Tomorrow”s Bioenergy Feedstock Supply Chain,” will benchmark existing solid biomass for fuel technologies and supply chain components. Participants will also identify the bottlenecks, challenges and opportunities for research and systems commercialization.

Featured speakers include: Colleen Callahan, Illinois State Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development;
Bill Johnson, Biofuel Development Manager, Alliant Energy; and John Regalbuto, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois-Chicago and National Science Foundation.

The event will include four panel discussions:

• Biomass End Users: energy conversion technologies, biomass feedstock specifications, challenges ahead
• Biomass Densification: technologies and equipment for transforming raw material into a commodity
• Systems and Marketing: creating a new bioeconomy
• Policy and Environmental Regulations: current and future issues affecting Midwestern biomass energy opportunities

For more information and to register for this event, visit www.bioenergy.illinois.edu/news/biomass.html or call 309 268-8160.