A plot of switchgrass grows in the Great Lake Bioenergy Research Center's fields at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station in Arlington, WI. Photo by Matthew Wisniewski
Who We Are
The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) is a U.S. Department of Energy-funded Bioenergy Research Center led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With Michigan State University and other partners, we are developing sustainable biofuels and bioproducts made from dedicated energy crops grown on marginal lands. Our mission is simple: creating biofuels and bioproducts that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable.
Research Themes
Sustainable cropping systems
Engineering bioenergy crops to enhance their environmental and economic value
GLBRC News
Michigan State University scientists with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center used computer simulations to model how 33 known inhibitors found in broken down plant material (hydrolysate) interact with the membrane of a promising bioenergy microbe called Zymomonas mobilis. These simulations revealed that most inhibitors easily passed through the membrane and were highly toxic to the cells; only a few sugars were slow to penetrate. Concluding that most inhibitory molecules would likely overwhelm efforts to remove them, researchers suggest that it would be more effective to dilute the hydrolysate before feeding it to microbes.
A team of international researchers led by the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center used alternate NMR methods to produce clearer pictures of molecular structures in lignin, a complex matrix of potentially-valuable molecules found in plant cell walls.