[Vision2020] Opportunities for Research

[Phil Nisbet]

As each of us goes to the gas pump, we look at the rising price of energy, 
our dependency on overseas sources of hydrocarbon fuels and even the need 
for cleaner less environmentally harmful energy.  Then we pump our gas and 
drive home and forget about it.

After all, what can a place like Latah County contribute to a solution?  We 
have no oil or gas deposits.  We raise wheat not corn, so there is no 
ethanol program.

But we do have resources.  We have a University, trees and minerals.

Bio-diesel and Gas to Liquid (GTL) technology is spreading and has a fair 
amount of grant funding available for research and development.  Both those 
conversion are based on use of specialty clays as catalytic feedstock.  We 
have an abundance of those clays in Latah County.

The Bio-diesel folk start using corn based ethanol and the GTL folks start 
by converting methane gas to methanol.  Its actually fairly easy to use 
existing bacteria to turn wood waste into a brewed and distilled product, 
methanol, and then convert it to bio-diesel.

So we have the raw resources here and we have a Research University here to 
develop the technology.  There are even funds out there to assist in 
developing that technology for a program that could enhance the University 
of Idaho while decreasing foreign energy dependence and having a cleaner 
fuel to use.

If anybody is interested, New Zealand is already in production with GTL and 
Willie Nelson is using Bio-diesel.  Any bio-diesel fuels are getting a buck 
a gallon subsidy from the Feds right now as well and 60,000,000 gallons a 
year of it are being made.

Would it not be interesting to be part of the solution to having renewable 
hydrocarbon fuels?

Phil Nisbet

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