ConocoPhillips and the National Renewable Energy Lab are working together to research cellulosic biofuels.

Cellulosic ethanol is derived from non-grain plant matter, such as stems and leaves, rather than the grains which are currently used.

Robert Brown, director of Iowa State’s Bioeconomy Institute, said he and the other researchers plan to complete a report about the results of their research in January 2009.

Their research will consist of preparing engineering and economic models of various processes for producing advanced cellulosic biofuels.

Collaboration between the groups will continue if the first phase is successful, Brown said.

NREL has its own resources for the research, and ConocoPhillips is providing resources to support its staff and ISU graduate students.

Together, they will study ethanol and synthetic gasoline and diesel. Brown said cellulosic and thermochemical ethanols have higher yields and higher biomass productivity than grain-based ethanol.

“First of all, you can get a lot more tons of biomass off an acre of land than you can grain off an acre of land,” Brown said.

The amount of grain that could be taken off an acre is five to seven-and-a-half tons of grain per acre, Brown estimated, but between five and 10 tons of cellulosic biomass – possibly more – could be harvested from that same acre.

Brown said producing grain-based ethanol is more associated with soil erosion than producing fuel from grass crops, which can be used for cellulosic ethanol.

Nancy Turner, a spokesperson for ConocoPhillips, said the company already has a relationship with Iowa State.

Last year, ConocoPhillips announced a $22.5 million biofuels research program at Iowa State. The energy company and university agreed to work together to investigate technologal advances in biorenewable energy.

“We’re trying to develop enhanced models to be used in an analysis of biofuel conversion technologies,” Turner said.

She said they will not be producing new research, but will be collecting information that is already publicly available for analysis.

This kind of research is called “techno-economic analysis,” Brown said, in which models will be developed that can predict the performance of different types of cellulosic ethanol.

Tom Foust, technology manager for the NREL’s Bioenergy Center, said there hasn’t really been any top-quality comparative analysis in the open literature of the various biofuel options.

“There’s been a void there, and I think this work will fill that void,” Foust said.