KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) -- A group of Western Michigan University researchers working to transform grease into biodiesel for city buses is planning to research how to effectively convert algae into ethanol.
Steven Bertman, a chemistry professor, on Thursday was among a group of investigators who gave U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., a presentation of their ideas, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported.
"The unifying theme is recovery of energy from waste," Bertman said.
Bertman along with Sarah Hill, assistant professor of anthropology, and John Miller, associate professor of chemistry, are awaiting a $984,000 U.S. Department of Energy grant to support the research.
They expect to project to take two years.
Bertman said they will be looking at the use for algae as ethanol in part because of concerns that there isn't enough land for growing crops to meet the country's demands for transportation fuel.
"We know that we can't grow our way to a biofuel future, not from the traditional feedstock, so we need to develop nontraditional feedstock," he said.
Bertman said they are focusing on algae because it is water-based so no agricultural land is used to produce it, and it grows quickly. Algae does not require a choice between food and fuel, such as converting corn into ethanol does.
In recent years, the researchers developed a plan to use grease restaurant kitchens as fuel for Kalamazoo buses.
Information from: Kalamazoo Gazette, http://www.mlive.com/kzgazette