Skip Navigation to main content U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Bringing you a prosperous future where energy is clean, abundant, reliable, and affordable EERE Home
Program Name
About the ProgramProgram AreasInformation ResourcesFinancial OpportunitiesTechnologiesDeploymentHome
Technologies

 

EERE Information Center

Photo of various plastic containers.

Plastics and many other materials and chemicals currently made from oil or gas don't have to be. Equivalent, comparable, and new products can also be made from biomass, as with these made from lactic acid made from corn sugar.

Quick Links

Biomass Basics

Biomass Today

Biomass Feedstocks

Thermochemical Platform

Sugar Platform

Other Platforms

Products R&D
Biological Conversion
Catalytic Conversion
Lignin-Derived Co-products
Synthesis Gas Fermentatiion

Integrated Biorefineries

Process Engineering and Life-Cycle Analysis

Biobased Products R&D

A wide range of biobased products could be made from sugars, lignin, synthesis gas, pyrolysis oil, and other biomass-derived platform chemicals. The Biomass Program is particularly interested in developing transportation fuels, commodity chemicals, and combined heat and power technologies for the utility market, all of which could help reduce dependence on imported oil and foster development of a domestic biorefinery industry. Among other things, the program has done considerable work in the areas of fermentative organisms and other means for biological conversion of sugars, developing products from the lignin that will be generated along with sugars, catalytic conversion of synthesis gas to valuable chemicals, and fermentation of synthesis gas to ethanol. Biorefineries will bundle a number of conversion and separation technologies for specific products to develop economically attractive overall operations.

For Further Reading










Printable Version


Skip footer navigation to end of page.

U.S. Department of Energy