New Berkeley Lab, BETO software tools will speed up biojet fuel development

In California, two new publicly-available web-based software tools aim to help researchers and companies quickly test different scenarios and explore viable bio-based fuels and products without ever stepping foot in the lab. The tools were developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, with funding support from the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office.

The first tool, Feedstock to Function, addresses one of the biggest hurdles involved in starting biojet fuel research: knowing whether a molecule could be viable as a fuel. The software lets users sort through a database of almost 10,000 potential molecules, and uses machine learning to predict the mollecule’s properties based on existing data.

The second tool, Bio-Cradle-to-Grave (BioC2G), explores potential locations and process configurations for scaling up the user’s production. This tool provides valuable information that will help companies decide which locations are optimal based on the potential feedstock availability nearby, and what greenhouse gas emissions and costs are associated with developing a new production facility.