Susan Stagg-Williams is associate professor of chemical and petroleum engineering at KU.   Susan joins us for this week’s Kansas Soybean Update.

Background:

The Energy Council is a division of the University of Kansas Center for Research and is the official organizing body of energy research at KU. Its mission is to provide the state and industry with key research, development and education, ranging from the traditional recovery of gas, oil and coal to new techniques for exploiting renewable biomass for transportation fuels and chemical feedstocks. The Energy Council promotes Kansas economic growth through the development and commercialization of new technologies, including biofuels and bioenergy.

As part of the education-and-outreach component of a biofuels-production grant from the Kansas Soybean Commission, the Energy Council and the KU Biodiesel Initiative conducted a biodiesel short course at the 3i Show in Garden City earlier this month. Kenlon Johannes from KSC talked about the future of biofuels. Harold Kraus – a soybean farmer from Hays, a Kansas Soybean commissioner and a member of the National Biodiesel Board – provided NBB’s perspective on the industry. Matt Jaeger, CEO of Emergent Green Technology, answered questions about biodiesel. David Kramer from the USDA Rural Development Business and Energy Program explained how to access USDA loans for renewable-energy projects. A panel of biodiesel producers discussed the ins and outs of the business and answered questions.