{"72774":{"#nid":"72774","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Chambliss Visits Tech to See Future of Biofuels","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EU.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) paid Georgia Tech a visit Aug. 8 to get a firsthand look at how Tech is working to create more efficient and affordable biofuels.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChambliss met with some of Georgia Tech\u0027s top experts in alternative fuels and Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough to discuss new technologies designed to produce practical biofuels. In particular, the group discussed Georgia Tech\u0027s efforts to create a method for transforming the pulp of the Southern pine (a type of soft wood native to the southern U.S.) into ethanol. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe process, if properly funded and supported, could replace between 15 percent and 20 percent of Georgia\u0027s gasoline consumption, according to Dr. Sam Shelton, a lead researcher on the Southern pine project and a member of Georgia Tech\u0027s Strategic Energy Institute.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Southern pine has huge potential for the State of Georgia,\u0022 Shelton told Chambliss. \u0022It\u0027s a great economic development opportunity.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESouthern pine is readily available on tree farms in Georgia, making it a cheap material for ethanol extraction. Georgia tree farms, the top growers of Georgia pine, produce up to 18 million tons of extra wood pulp each year, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission. The wood, typically used by paper mills to produce paper goods, could instead be used to make ethanol. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe challenge lies in perfecting the process for removing the ethanol from the wood pulp. Georgia Tech researchers are working with special membranes designed to separate the ethanol and water from the pulp by catching the larger ethanol molecules. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChambliss toured the lab working on the separation membranes guided by the project\u0027s director, Dr. Ron Rousseau.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith the right support, the researchers hope to have plants for converting Southern pine into ethanol in the next few years.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Senator examines new technologies to reduce oil dependence"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss met with some of Georgia Tech\u0027s top experts in alternative fuels and Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough to discuss new technologies designed to produce practical biofuels.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Senator looks at technologies to replace some oil"}],"uid":"27281","created_gmt":"2006-08-09 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:42","author":"Lisa Grovenstein","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2006-08-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2006-08-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"72775":{"id":"72775","type":"image","title":"Chambliss","body":null,"created":"1449177954","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:25:54","changed":"1475894663","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:23"}},"media_ids":["72775"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.energy.gatech.edu\/","title":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003ELisa Grovenstein\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=lgrovenste3\u0022\u003EContact Lisa Grovenstein\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-8835\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["lisa.grovenstein@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}