Biomaterials Lab (P119)

Advanced research on biomaterials and biofuels is the focus of this lab. The facility is designed to support advances in biofuels and biomaterials. The research team includes faculty and students from the Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry Departments. There are facilities for producing biodiesel, ethanol, and bioplastics. Small experimental windmills are also being worked on in this lab. The main thrust of current research is to reduce waste streams and decrease the use of fossil fuels in the production of biofuels. As part of this research, the biofuels team has created a unique water heating test stand to measure the flame temperature, energy content, and pollutants created by burning various biofuel and agricultural waste products.

Equipment

• Hot water testing stand with combustion and temperature instruments
• Oil seed press
• Biodiesel processor
• Ethanol still
• Portable windmill
• LabVIEW based data acquisition system
• Biodiesel powered motorcycle
• Ethanol powered lawn mower