Location: Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research
Project Number: 2040-43000-018-042-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2024
End Date: Aug 31, 2026
Objective:
Bioeconomy technologies encompass a broad range of opportunities to recycle carbon to make fuels, chemicals, and value-added products. The goal of this project is to build capacity for research, education, and adoption of bioeconomy technologies for Hawaii and the tropics, regions of great biomass-production. The overall goal is to establish a fully functional tropical biomass to bioproduct capability. Specific objectives are to: 1) Operate existing bioreactors at the U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center for research and education activities; 2) Demonstrate bioeconomy and fermentation technologies to researchers, students and stakeholders; and 3) Evaluate biomass samples from field trials for suitability as biomass feedstock.
Approach:
The collaborators will maintain and operate the bioreactor/fermentation suite for applied research, demonstration, and student training to build capacity in Hawaii for a bioeconomy. The approach includes continued field trials of potential tropical biomass crops, especially sugarcane, to evaluate sustainable agronomic growing conditions and suitability of the biomass as a bioeconomy feedstock. Other types of locally grown crops will be assessed for value-added fermented foods. New technologies will be transferred to scientists and stakeholders for potential use in bioeconomy applications, including biofuel, and fermented value-added products.
