SBIR Phase II: "Bio-Ethanol Fueled SOFC System"

The proposed research will satisfy three of the USDA's strategic goals as discussed below: (1)The project will enhance economic opportunities for agricultural producers by facilitating the providing impetus for the establishment of a bio-ethanol infrastructure, leading to a new agricultural industry based on crop production and harvesting. (2) The project will support increased economic opportunities and improved quality of life in rural America through the growth of employment opportunities related to crop production, harvesting and bio-fuels manufacture as the bio-fuels infrastructure is established. Further, the product to be enabled by this project will be a power system that is ideally suited for rural areas, i.e., at the periphery of the electrical grid and in some areas where the grid hasn't been extended. (3) The project will protect and enhance the Nation's natural resource base and environment by replacing inefficient and polluting power generation technologies that require fossil fuels with highly efficient and environmentally friendly power generation technology that utilizes renewable fuels. Further, the use of crop-derived bio-fuels for generating electrical power is a CO2-neutral approach and thus greatly reduces global warming effects due to greenhouse gas emissions. Since SOFC's do not require dry feeds, energy will be saved in the ethanol purification process to produce a usable fuel.