The BioCentury Research Farm, according to the university, is internationally recognized as the home of cutting-edge bioeconomy science and engineering and was the first-in-the nation integrated research and demonstration facility dedicated to biomass production and processing.

Since its opening on Sept. 22, 2009, the BioCentury Research Farm continues to serve as the home for innovative and sustainable research and development utilizing some of the most plentiful raw materials available in Iowa, such as corn, soybeans, crop residues, grasses and algae.

“We are focused on biomass, fuels, chemicals, value-added products like equipment development,” said Andrew Suby, BCRF manager. “We are in a lot of different areas. It can be feed, fiber, it can be fuels — anything that is biomass that was living at one point to get it to a product is really what we do.”

BCRF goals

-Submitted photo courtesy of Iowa State University
The BioCentury Research Farm, which is located between Boone and Ames, was started back in September 2009 and uses 1,000 acres in addition to their facilities.

Among BCRF’s goals are the following:

• Develop new feedstocks with preferred properties for conversion to biofuels and biobased products.

• Design and test new agronomic systems for biomass production.

• Develop advanced harvest, storage and densification technologies for delivering biomass with optimal properties for conversion to biofuels and biobased products.

• Develop new biorefining methods using thermochemical, biological and catalytic chemistry approaches.

-Submitted photo courtesy of Iowa State University
Martin Gross with Gross- Wen Technologies looks at a test sample of waste water being treated with algae during the pilot scale experiment at the BioCentury Research Farm.

• Encourage and facilitate interdisciplinary research, training and outreach that support development of systems approaches for the biofuels and biobased products industries.

• Foster commercialization of new technologies and incubate new companies in biorenewables space in Iowa.

Suby said work has been done at BCRF for national labs, other universities, private industry and Iowa State University professors.

“At the end of the day, this is all for economic development with the big picture to basically be the come-to meeting place between industry and faculty here at Iowa State,” he said. “The professors — they are the stars and we help them shine a little brighter.”

Suby has been with the BCRF from the beginning.

“I have seen the growth,” he said. “Matt Darr is our director. He is very good at understanding on how to grow in the right areas. We are expanding.”

Suby wears a lot of hats in his position as manager.

“I try to keep obstacles out of the way of the professors so they can do the work. I try to keep the place afloat, keep the place safe and I do my best to get industry and professors together, and usually it’s just an introduction and away it goes,” he said.

Suby said there are several people that were a part of getting the BioCentury Research Farm started — specifically, Robert Brown, professor at Iowa State University and Wendy Wintersteen, president of Iowa State University.

“We are helping the great entrepreneurs at both Iowa State and within the industry to bring the science out to the marketplace,” he said. “Wendy Wintersteen and the administration have that entrepreneurial spirit. This is Wendy’s legacy — she was Dean of the College of Agriculture at that time; along with Robert Brown and some others — they made up the magnificent seven to come up with this. Robert Brown has been doing this for years. He is the expert when it comes to biomass and thermochemical products.”

More than 250 undergraduate students who have been employed at the facility have gone on to careers at leading companies in the agriculture and engineering industries, including John Deere, Caterpillar, Inc., Corteva, Gross Wen Technologies and SpaceX.

“We want people to understand the entrepreneurial activity that is going on at Iowa State and the student development that comes with it,” said Suby. “All of these projects have massive amounts of student development. They understand how to overcome obstacles, finish products and do some work that really matters. For us it is really great to see science with practice.”

Current work

There is a lot of activity going on at BioCentury Research Farms surrounding Biochar, a charcoal-like substance that’s made by burning organic material.

“We are doing great things with biochar. There is more to come from that,” said Suby.

Work extracting oils from biomass, Suby said, is also ongoing.

“Woods, grasses, corn stover — any of these different things,” he said. “These are a great example of a biorefinery.”

Success stories

• Biopolymer

One of the success stories of a product developed at the BCRF is right under your feet — literally.

Christopher Williams, civil construction engineer, and Eric Cochran, chemical engineer, were research team leaders and came up with a way to make a binder for asphalt using high-oleic soybean oil.

“The issue with trying to commercialize is how to scale up,” said Suby. “What they did, they worked with the company Argo Genesis Chemical LLC to build a demonstration plant on site that was able to produce enough material to make a sizeable amount for demonstration.”

He said the research has been done in several states.

“It is performing wonderfully,” he said. “It’s cheaper, stronger and better and made of soybeans.”

• Gross-Wen Technologies

Gross-Wen Technologies uses its patented wastewater treatment technology that was developed at the BCRF, known as revolving algal biofilm system, to cost-effectively recover nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from the water.

“They came up with a lab-scale idea, built a greenhouse out here for a pilot scale and now they’re a 16-employee company with world headquarters in Slater selling algae technology,” Suby said.

Cellulosic ethanol

Iowa State University, Suby said, was very involved with the production of cellulosic ethanol.

“What was great about the project is that Iowa State was very involved in providing data so that companies could make good decisions on how best to make a profit. It has to be sustainable. We provided a lot of data so that infrastructure could be built,” he said. “Our part of this project was basically, the ideas were here, how do we harvest it? Find out what’s better or worse. How do I not wreck the field? How do I best spend my dollar? How do I store it? How many miles can I go to get it before I start losing money? All of that had to be decided, so they came to us and we provided data. The next one to come along will benefit from that.”

Although cellulosic ethanol is no longer being produced in the state of Iowa, Suby feels there is still an opportunity out there for the product.

“The story is not over for cellulosic ethanol,” he said. “Verbio is going to use cornstalks and cobs and leaves just like cellulosic ethanol in anaerobic digestion to make natural gas.”

Verbio purchased a plant near Nevada that originally belonged to DuPont.

Suby said at the end of the day, people have to make money and they are there to help find a way for that to happen.

“We have 1,000 acres to be able to grow any feedstock we want. We can harvest it on full scale, bring it on site. We have storage, the prep — whatever we need to do to get it in the format it needs to be in, get it in the kitchen and use those recipes to make a product,” he said.

Suby said they look at the BioCentury Research Farms as an entire system — not just one part of it.

“That is really the advantage this has. It gives professors and industry leverage to figure things out. The great thing about pilot scales is if they don’t work, it is cheap to come to us and figure out why it doesn’t work and move on to something else, or find something that is promising so they feel comfortable to scale up. That is probably where we have made the most difference,” he said.

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