Editor’s note: This story is the second in a series examining the new initiatives Iowa State has begun to enhance the quality of research in the university. Today’s story focuses on the Bioeconomy Initiative.

The corn and soybeans that many Iowa residents walk and drive past every day may hold the key to a cleaner future.

The Bioeconomy Initiative will help fund the study of carbon in plants as an alternative energy source to carbon-based fossil fuels.

“We have an entire infrastructure in the United States based on fossil fuels,” said Brent Shank, associate professor of chemical engineering. “Ninety percent of crude oil goes to fossil fuels, and the remainder to industrial chemicals.”

All of these chemicals, he said, are predicated on the use of carbon. Bioeconomy seeks to use carbon from plants as its main source, instead of fossil fuels.

“We’re talking about a whole new infrastructure,” he said.

In addition, plant-based fuel would reduce dependency on crude oil, more than half of which is imported. Burning crude oil releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, while plants incorporate carbon dioxide into their life cycle, keeping it out of the atmosphere, Shank said.

But corn and soybeans aren’t alone in this plan. Any plant could theoretically be a source of carbon, although the degrees of effectiveness vary. Right now, Shank said, there is a lot of interest in switchgrass, fast-growing trees, and in the South, sugarcane.

An increased demand for raw materials would benefit farmers, said Stan Johnson, vice provost for Cooperative Extension Service.

“The economic activity in this area is growing very rapidly,” he said. “It could have a big impact on where private firms locate.”

Ethanol is a part of the new “bioeconomy.” To create ethanol, the starch from seed corn is separated from its hull, then broken down into sugar and fermented, Shank said.

A debate, however, rages over the effectiveness of ethanol in reducing pollution.

Although fossil fuels are not directly involved in its creation, fertilizers and tractors are.

Shank said the most recent studies indicate there is a net savings, but that number is not well-defined. A goal of the initiative, he said, is to do a better job of “quantifying the macro-scale effect” of these energy sources. A researcher will be hired to do macro life-cycle analysis, which studies the effectiveness of energy sources, with all costs and benefits.

The U.S. Department of Energy is helping to fund a graduate program in BioRenewable Resources and Technology, which is in the planning process. “This initiative fits very nicely with a BioRenewable group of faculty and research program,” Johnson said.