Shrub willow as a biofuels feedstock

In New York, the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry is developing shrub willow as a renewable energy source for biobutanol production under the Willow Biomass Project.

Thanks to a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and $75,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, researchers are experimenting with different strains of bacteria to see which can most effectively ferment the mixed sugars, including glucose and xylose, that have been obtained from wood through a process developed at the college several years ago.