Course Announcement
BRT 501 –
Fundamentals of Biorenewable Resources
The Coordinating Committee of the
new interdisciplinary Biorenewable Resources and Technology (BRT) Graduate
Program is pleased to announce that a new graduate course — BRT 501, Fundamentals
of Biorenewable Resources —
will be offered in the
Fall semester, 2003:
BRT 501 – Fundamentals of Biorenewable Resources. Fall, 2003. Cr. 3.0 Section A, MWF 2:10-3:00. 1651 Gilman Hall. Prerequisites: undergraduate training in engineering or physical or biological discipline or degrees in agriculture or economics.
Course Description
This course will introduce students to
the science and engineering of converting biorenewable resources into bioenergy
and biobased products. It will be
team-taught, with lectures organized and/or given by faculty from the
Departments of Chemistry, Food Science & Human Nutrition, Mechanical
Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Ag & Biosystems Engineering, Forestry,
and Economics. Topics of
discussion will include: survey of
biorenewable resource base and properties; description of biobased products;
methods of biorenewable resource production; processing technologies for fuels,
chemicals, materials and energy; environmental impacts; and economics of
biobased products and bioenergy (see attached for a more detailed list of
lecture topics).
Enrollment Procedures
This course is available in the Fall 2003 Schedule of Classes and ISU web registration system. Students can add it to their Fall schedules on-line using AccessPlus (click on Register for Classes).
Lecture Topics
BRT 501 – Fundamentals of
Biorenewable Resources
Fall 2003 l Section A, MWF 2:10-3:00 l 1651 Gilman Hall
1.
Introduction
Definition of terms; history of biorenewables; challenges; foundations of the BioEconomy; DOE vision/roadmap.
2.
Engineering
Concepts
3.
Chemistry
Concepts
4.
Biochemistry
and Plant Science Concepts
5.
Plant
Separation Concepts
6.
Carbohydrates,
Lignocellulose, Oils, and Protein
7.
Biorenewable
Resource Base
Wastes; dedicated energy
crops; herbaceous energy crops; woody crops.
8.
Production
of Biorenewable Resources
Herbaceous crops (planting, harvesting, storage); woody crops (planting, harvesting, storage); transgenic crops.
9.
Products
from Biorenewable Resources
Bioenergy and fuel cells; transportation fuels; chemicals; materials (bioplastics, biocomposites, fiber products).
10.
Conversion
of Biorenewable Resources into Heat and Power
Combustion; gasification;
biological routes.
11.
Processing
of Biorenewable Resources to Chemicals and Fuels
Fermentation of sugars (PLA); conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks; thermochemical conversion; catalysis (biodiesel); biorenewable resources to natural fibers.
12.
Environmental
Impact of the BioEconomy
Soil fertility; erosion; global warming.
13.
Economics
of Biorenewable Resources
Cost of
feedstocks from biorenewable resources; cost for manufacturing biobased
products; public policy (present status of the bioenergy industry and the case
for government involvement); products and pricing in markets with quality
standards
(a review of specific instances of competition between bioproducts and
petrochemical products, e.g., ethanol and MTBE, ethylene and lactic acid
plastics).