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Media Advisory 08-032

NSF Press Briefing: Green Gasoline

A renewable petroleum alternative from plants; briefing on Sept. 23

green gasoline.

A press briefing on green gasoline will take place on Sept. 23, 2008.


September 15, 2008

This briefing will be open via telecon. Dial (888) 324-3618 (toll-free domestic) or 1 (212) 287-1639 (toll international) and announce the pass code Green Gasoline to join the event where you will have an opportunity to listen and ask questions.

View video interviews with John Regalbuto of the National Science Foundation, biochemist Clint Chapple from Purdue University, Randy Cortright, CTO of Virent Energy Systems, and chemical engineer George Huber from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

First-generation biofuels have been hampered by a range of factors, from incompatibility and lower energy yields to concerns about their potential impacts on food prices. A new, second-generation biofuel known as cellulosic gasoline, or "green gasoline," is positioned to bridge those gaps and eventually provide gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other chemicals that are identical to petroleum counterparts yet are derived from non-food plants and agricultural waste.

Breakthroughs emerging this year are ushering in a period of rapid development in green gasoline research, and now some of the largest petroleum companies in the world are joining the effort. On Sept. 23, 2008, three leading experts from academia and industry will host a panel discussion at NSF to highlight how far researchers have come, and how far they still need to go, to bring plant-derived gasoline to market.

Who:

John Regalbuto, chemical engineering professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Catalysis and Biocatalysis Program Director at the National Science Foundation
George Huber, chemical engineering professor from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Randy Cortright, CTO of Virent Energy Systems

What:Discussion of the present and future of green gasoline research
When:Tuesday, September 23, 2008, at 2:00 p.m. ET
Where:National Science Foundation
Room 110
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, Va. (Ballston Metro Stop)

Check in at security desk, 9th & Stuart St. entrance.

For Directions, see http://www.nsf.gov/about/visit/.

RSVP to Josh Chamot, media officer for engineering, at jchamot@nsf.gov.

Note:  On September 27, NSF will be at Family Day at the U.S. Botanic Garden, just across First Street SW from the U.S. Capitol, to display typical "green energy" plants used in green gasoline production-along with a sample of "biocrude" and the catalysts used to create green gasoline from plants-and to answer questions from the public.  The plants are being provided by  the USDA U.S. National Arboretum courtesy of their Power Plants-Farming Energy exhibit. 

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Joshua A. Chamot, NSF, (703) 292-7730, email: jchamot@nsf.gov

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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