Belleville Student Tackles Alternative Fuels
December 6, 2005

When filling up at the fuel pump became more expensive earlier this fall, Alvin Addu, of Belleville, started working on a project that may some day ease consumers' pain.

Addu, a Rowan University chemical engineering sophomore, has been researching developing improved bacterial strains for bioethanol production. The work will count as part of his junior and senior clinic - Rowan's hands-on educational approach to investigating real-world problems.

"As fuel is becoming a growing problem worldwide, alternative fuels are being researched to solve these problems, in this case bioethanol," said Addu, a 2003 Our Lady of Good Counsel High School graduate.

Professors and students started working in the fall of 2003 on the project, which is expected to run at least another two years. Students have helped conduct this research as part of their clinic during the academic year and as independent research during summer break.

The project, funded by the National Science Foundation, focuses on developing enhanced bacterial catalysts for the transformation of waste biomass, such as corn stover - stalks and leaves left after the corn has been combined - to ethanol.

"Recently, ethanol production from corn and other sugary crops has come under fire for energy inefficiency; there is a debate over whether we use more energy in the corn production and fermentation process than we obtain from the resulting ethanol," said chemical engineering professor Dr. Brian Lefebvre. "With corn stover, the economics are much more favorable. Corn stover is the largest U.S. biomass source, is relatively inexpensive and could be harvested with little additional outlay of energy, as corn stover is generally plowed into the soil after the corncobs are harvested. However, the sugars that are present in corn stover are not as easily fermentable as those present in sugary crops, which necessitates the development of improved bacterial strains for this fermentation."

Addu and the team will spend one year working in the Biological Sciences Department developing new bacterial strains with desired properties. During the second year of the project they work in the Engineering building, evaluating their strains through test fermentations.

Addu is pleased to be part of the solution. "With increasing gas prices, bioethanol may prove to be the solution," he said. "Wouldn't we all be happier if we had to spend less on gas?"