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* Nearby natural resources.
* High quality transportation infrastructure.
* Proximity to a research center, at Iowa State University.
* The city's history of supporting progressive renewable energy.
If it is deemed safe to use in the city's boilers, the resulting bio-oil could someday be mixed with coal to provide power to the city, Cooper said.
Cooper and Robert Brown, a professor and researcher at ISU, explained the proposed study to the Ames City Council on Tuesday. The council is expected to commit $25,000 toward a feasibility study at its Jan. 23 meeting.
Councilman Jim Popken, who has followed the idea for nearly a year, said he would vote to fund the project.
"It's a catalyst, I think, for the state, even," Popken said. "If we're able to do this, it will be replicated someplace else."
The $60,000 feasibility study, which already has support from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, would identify any barriers to producing bio-oil from corn stover and trash on a commercial scale.
Cooper and Brown have raved about the potential environmental impacts that bio-oil could have over coal.
Cooper said it goes beyond reducing sulfur oxides and nitrous oxides.
"When you use a biomass, and you displace coal, you're reducing carbon emissions," Cooper said. "You're having a net impact on carbon that's going into the atmosphere. Coal is a prehistoric carbon source. Annually, biomass pulls carbon out of the atmosphere, you use it and it puts it back. It cycles."
Brown said a myriad of chemicals can be retrieved from bio-oil, such as those used in pharmaceuticals and insecticides. He said bio-oil also provides a cheaper alternative to natural gas.
"There are a lot of opportunities to substitute for natural gas," Brown said. "This is kind of the first step. The real issue here is, can we produce an oil that is a useful fuel and can be done economically, compared to some other alternatives?"
Brown said coal will be tough to beat, from a cost standpoint, until a strong commitment is made toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"I'm looking for the day when we have some kind of cap and trade on carbon," Brown said. "Technology like this could be very attractive."
A site for a prototype plant has not been determined, Brown said. Initial tests would take place at the Biomass Conversion Center in Nevada.
Pyrolysis, the decomposition of organic materials using high heat and low oxygen, has already been tested successfully there, using a small-scale unit.
Cooper said Iowa spends $6.6 billion on energy each year. He said 97 percent of that energy comes from outside of the state.
"The remaining percentage of that $6.6 billion is a huge opportunity," Cooper said. "If you add environmental benefits to that, you have a win-win potential."
Jeff Raasch can be reached
at 232-2161, Ext. 343,
or jraasch@amestrib.com.
