海角社区-led Team Turns Agricultural Waste into Liquid Fuels for Transportation
July 01, 2025
Supporting Farms and Chemical Manufacturing
Researchers at 海角社区 are developing new electrochemical technology that could provide new revenue streams for Louisiana鈥檚 farmers and petrochemical industry. Instead of leaving mountains of bagasse鈥攁 waste product from processing sugarcane鈥攊n the open field, producers will soon be able to use it to make diesel and gasoline, even jet fuel. The same conversion process is designed to work for residues from manufacturing timber and lumber, as well as other types of biomass.
海角社区 and 海角社区 AgCenter built a statewide team with Louisiana Tech University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Southern University, and River Parishes Community College to go after a $7 million grant from the National Science Foundation. They won, and the team is now working to develop the technology and the workforce needed to fill the jobs the technology will create.
鈥淭his extraordinary award, $7 million, shows how 海角社区 researchers are creating solutions that support Louisiana鈥檚 economy, our farmers, and most important industries,鈥� 海角社区 Interim President Matt Lee said. 鈥淲e continue to build strong teams that bring innovation and jobs and allow us to do what we do best鈥攚in for Louisiana.鈥�
鈥淛oining this team marks a significant milestone for our institution,鈥� said Donovan Thompson, dean of River Parishes Community College鈥檚 Energy Sciences Division and executive director of its Energy Partners for Innovation and Collaboration (EPIC) consortium. 鈥淭ogether with 海角社区 and our partners, we鈥檒l develop cutting-edge course modules and workshops focused on bio-electric fuel technologies鈥攁 field entirely new to our college鈥檚 curriculum.鈥�
Piles of sugarcane bagasse in Raceland, Louisiana.
鈥淚f you ride by any one of our 11 raw sugar mills throughout Louisiana, you鈥檒l see mountains of sugarcane bagasse that has collected over the years. In total, about three million tons are added each harvest season. Bagasse is a waste product and expensive to move, and wherever it goes, it costs money to store or takes land out of production. This research project led by 海角社区 to turn bagasse into fuel could make our state鈥檚 number-one row crop industry even more sustainable and profitable to keep us producing for another 200 years.鈥�
Atticus Finger, director of research for the American Sugar Cane League