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U of M hosts bioeconomy conference
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This two-day conference will bring together national and local players from Minnesota's bioeconomy to explore renewable energy opportunities.
Agricultural producers, landowners, community and business leaders, and citizens interested in economic development and biorenewables are encouraged to attend and identify ways they can participate in solutions to the global climate change and energy supply issues facing Minnesota.
Location: University of Minnesota Continuing Education and Conference Center Cost: $50 per day, $85 for both days |
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Hotels: The Ramada Plaza Minneapolis and the Radisson Roseville offer special rates for those attending University events. Both hotels also offer complimentary hotel shuttle service to the Continuing Education and Conference Center.
Questions? You can direct any questions about the conference to Rebecca Noran at ran@umn.edu.
Download promotional flyer [PDF]
Watch promotional video:
Gather on campus to participate in the virtual part of the conference, hosted simultaneously by 12 state universities. Speakers include:
Introductions and welcome |
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| 9:00 a.m. | Jack Payne, Iowa State University Vice President for Extension and Outreach |
| 9:05 a.m. | Gregory Geoffroy, President of Iowa State University, and David Chicoine, President of South Dakota State University |
Plenary session |
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| 9:15 a.m. | Keynote address: James E. Lovelock (see video preview) |
| Conversion of agricultural residues into biochar for incorporation into agricultural soils as the solution to global climate change | |
| 10:00 a.m. | Plenary address: Johannes Lehmann |
| The potential of biochar production, in combination with bioenergy production, to improve nutrient retention in soils and removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere | |
| 10:30 a.m. | Plenary address: Matt Liebman |
| Use of perennial species as biofuels feedstocks at particular locations within agroecosystems can provide important services, including soil, water, and nature conservation, while complementing food and feed production | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Thomas Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture |
| 11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m. | Live panel discussion: Considering what fits locally Steve Taff and Mark Lindquist |
Concurrent session 1 |
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| 1:00 p.m. | Track 1: Net greenhouse gas emission from biofuel systems |
Robert Larson will discuss potential impacts of life cycle assessment and policies for the biofuel industry. Shashi Verma, Ph.D., will discuss how field scale measurements of net greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration are measured and the findings from corn-soybean production systems. Adam Liska, Ph.D., will discuss life cycle assessment for corn and cellulosic ethanol production. Richard Perrin, Ph.D., will discuss the economics of biomass based combined heat and power as a means of reducing fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions in corn-ethanol production. |
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| Track 2: Non-traditional feedstocks | |
Kurt Thelen, Ph.D., will discuss the agronomics of producing perennial grasses including switchgrass and miscanthus. Cole Gustafson, Ph.D., will talk about handling, storage and logistics of biomass crops including corncobs and corn stover. Scott Swinton, Ph.D., will present a case study that compares the profitability of producing switchgrass and miscanthus to corn. |
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| 3:00 p.m. | Break |
Concurrent session 2 |
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| 3:30 p.m. | Track 3: Advances and breakthroughs in biofuels |
Charles R. Hurburgh, Jr., Ph.D., will present a summary of advances related to corn based biofuels. Corn based biofuels, if coupled with several emerging technologies, can be more energy efficient than commonly believed and capable of distributing more key nutrients to livestock fed co-products. Andrew Zurn will present information on advances in ethanol production using biogas from a gasifier in an ethanol plant. Doug Berven will discuss POET Energy’s plan to use corn cobs for ethanol production and advances in starch based ethanol production. Roger Ruan, Ph.D., will discuss advances in pyrolysis of biomass in the production of bio-oils. |
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| Track 4: Bioenergy economic and policy issues | |
Wally Tyner, Ph.D., will discuss second generation biofuels economic and policy issues with an emphasis on: blending wall, import tariff, market uncertainty, technology uncertainty, feedstock supply, and interaction among all these factors. Dr. Steven Wu, Ph.D., will present on contracting issues for second generation perennial crops and will discuss issues of how to design contracts suitable for farmers interested in biomass crops for biofuels production. Roger Conway, Ph.D., will discuss program funding opportunities made available through USDA. Daniel de la Torre Ugarte, Ph.D., will discuss where bioenergy crops will become feedstock sources and the economic potential for these crops. |
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| 5:30 p.m. | Day 1 adjourns |
>> More details on day 1 at bioeconomyconference.org.
>> Register to attend online (remote viewing)
>> Register to attend in person on the University of Minnesota campus (broadcast viewing)
After the big picture overview of Day 1, we'll take it down to the practical, local level for Day 2. We'll focus on local success stories, getting your questions answered, and giving you information you can put to use right away.
| 7:30 a.m. | Registration |
| 8:30–8:45 a.m. | Welcome and opening remarks |
Bev Durgan, Dean, University of Minnesota Extension Greg Cuomo, Associate Dean for Extension, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, University of Minnesota |
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Business opportunities |
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| 8:45–9:15 a.m. | Biorenewable Feedstocks of Minnesota |
| Keith Butcher, formerly with Center for Energy and the Environment | |
| 9:15–10:15 a.m. | Panel on Conversion Technologies |
| Densification: Vance Morey, University of Minnesota Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering Pyrolysis: Roger Ruan, University of Minnesota Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering Gasification: Cecil Massie, 6Solutions LLC |
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| 10:15–10:30 a.m. | Break |
| 10:30–11:15 a.m. | Waste Streams and Anaerobic Digestion |
| Patrick Hirl, Stanley Consultants | |
Next steps |
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| 11:15–11:45 a.m. | Review of Process and Conclusions of White Earth Project |
| Ken Valentas, Associate Director, University of Minnesota BioTechnology Institute | |
| 11:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Lunch |
Community and business examples |
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| 12:30 p.m. | Two Examples of Biomass Utilization for Energy in Business |
| Corncob harvest and gasification for process heat: Andrew Zurn, Plant Engineer, Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company Pelleted woody biomass: Joann Birchem, Valley Forest Wood Products |
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| 2–2:15 p.m. | Break |
| 2:15–2:45 p.m. | Community District Heating — Laurentian Energy Authority |
| Terry Leoni, General Manager, Virginia Public Utilities | |
| 2:45–3:15 p.m. | Looking Ahead to Additional Technologies and Business Concepts |
| Rod Larkins, Associate Director, Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment, University of Minnesota | |
| 3:15–3:30 p.m. | Wrap up |
| 3:30 p.m. | Adjourn |
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