Research Highlights

Engineered Softwood
Great Lakes Bioenergy researchers and collaborators engineered softwoods to incorporate a key feature of hardwoods. The resulting pine (shown here) processes more easily into pulp and paper.

Great Lakes Bioenergy research consistently results in new discoveries and new technologies. Here, we highlight high-impact research from all three of our research areas.

Next-generation ammonia pretreatment enhances cellulosic biofuel production
Lignocellulosic crop residues are a promising alternative feedstock for producing liquid fuels and chemicals for modern biobased economies, and biochemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to liquid fuels requires pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of the biomass to yield fermentable sugars. To compete with traditional refineries, biorefineries must achieve high carbohydrate-to-fuel yields with low enzymatic input and facilitate lignin valorization to co-products extending beyond simply using lignin to generate heat and power. Most pretreatment processes require high enzymatic loadings to achieve higher sugar yields under industrially-relevant conditions.