Biofuels lab taking shape at Cornell

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Apr 4, 2008 by Martino, Kristina

ITHACA - Using a $10 million grant from New York State, Cornell University is renovating 11,500 square feet of a former agricultural engineering, power and machinery lab and transforming it into a biofuels research laboratory, says Larry Walker, professor of biological and environmental engineering at Cornell.

Faculty and students will study the production of ethanol and other biofuels at the laboratory.

The $6 million renovation project involves a partial renovation of Riley Robb Hall, built in 1957. The biofuels research lab will occupy the east wing of the hall that housed Walker's former lab.

Prior to renovation, Walker utilized the building for lab space for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

"The space was very old and not as functional as it should be," Walker says. "This [renovation] will give us first-rate research real estate."

Walker says the remaining $4 million will be used to purchase equipment for the lab such as analytical equipment, incubators, and fomenters.

New York State's Empire State Development Corp. (ESD) awarded Walker the grant to construct a biofuels research lab at Cornell.

ESD operates co-headquarters in New York City and Albany and is a state agency that provides assistance and service to businesses in an effort to encourage economic development and investment in the state.

Walker anticipates building completion by January 2009 when at least 12 to 18 faculty members and about 25 graduate students plan to start utilizing the lab. The faculty and students are currently working at a variety of buildings scattered around the campus.

The purpose of building the research lab is to study how to convert perennial grasses and woody biomass into ethanol and other biofuels.

"What we need to do with this facility is find efficient techniques to ferment and liberate sugars in biofuels like ethanol," Walker says.

Demolition of the existing wing started in February and asbestos abatement is now completed, Walker says.

The project team consists of the architecture firm SWBR Architects and Engineers, P.C.; M/E Engineering, P.C., the project's contractor for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection; and general contractor, Lechase Construction Services, LLC. All of the firms are headquartered in Rochester.

The facility is designed so that plants will enter the building at one end to undergo pretreatment, bioconversion, and fermentation.

Once faculty moves into the building, Cornell University will start offering a master's of engineering program focused on biofuel due to the industry demand, Walters says.

"This [lab] will train the next generation of scientists and engineers who will drive the bioeconomy in New York," Walter says.

Biofuel is an alternative to petroleum-based gasoline that is produced from plant or animal substances.