UW-Stevens Point: Researchers Guay and Singsaas receive $200,000 for ongoing biofuels research

University Relations and Communications, 715-346-3046, Fax 715-346-2042, http://www.uwsp.edu/news

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) Professors Don Guay of paper science and engineering, and Eric Singsaas of biology and forestry, received a $200,000 grant as part of a collaborative research project between UWSP, UW-Superior, and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. According to Guay, this grant supports UWSP’s ongoing biofuels research program spearheaded by Guay and Singsaas.

“We are determined to be a major research player in solving Wisconsin’s conversion toward a biofuel produced from wood and/or forest waste byproducts,” said Guay. “Our research at the UWSP Wisconsin Institute for Sustainability (WIST) may give the state’s aging paper mills a renewed mission in energy generation while keeping many paper mill employees on the job.”

According to Guay and Singsaas, their research will utilize technologies developed to manufacture chemical pulp to promote enzymatic saccharification (separation) of pulp and paper industry wood cellulose into fermentable sugars.

“Our objective is to provide the highest yield of glucose possible from wood or forest-related waste-based cellulose,” said Singsaas. “We’ve combined our biofuels research objectives from the joint perspectives of a chemical engineer and a plant biologist. We remain convinced we are very close to creating viable application options to turn paper and forest waste into a highly efficient, marketable biofuel in the coming months, not years.”

Much of the $200,000 grant will be used to purchase laboratory equipment as well as for hiring student researchers, according to Singsaas.

“We are extremely grateful for collaborative research support from UW-Superior and the U.S. Army,” said Guay. “The timing of this grant support is propitious as we move into the final research phases of this momentous biofuels research project.

Singsaas’ biofuels research is directed toward “creating a biochemical pathway where terpenoids (isoprene, for example) could be used in the manufacture of noncarcinogenic products ranging from fuel for your automobile to rubber for your sneakers.” Guay’s research focuses on using enzymes to release the glucose from wood or forestry waste and then convert it into a highly efficient biofuel.

A native of Appleton, Guay is a 1996 UWSP paper science graduate and holds a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Maine. Prior to joining the UWSP faculty in 2004, he worked as a technical manager for Integrated Paper Services in Appleton.

Singsaas received his bachelor’s of arts degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., and his doctorate from UW-Madison. He came to UWSP in 2001.