Camelina sativa-Based Biorefinery

Camelina sativa is a cool season oil seed crop that has been used to produce bio-jet fuel. Researchers at the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology (WIST) are collaborating with Wisconsin-based farmers and scientists at Montana State University – Northern (MSUN) to investigate its use in a biorefinery that uses the entire plant to produce bio-jet fuel plus a number of value-added bio-based products. MSUN scientists have developed a cost-effective catalytic conversion of Camelina seed oil to bio-jet fuel. WIST’s work focuses on analysis of the non-oil portions of the plant, which can be used in a lignocellulose biorefinery to produce lignin, butanol, ethanol, and fuel pellets. We expect that a multiple-product biorefinery will help to defray biomass growing and harvesting costs and thereby bring the cost of bio-jet fuel into a range where it is economically feasible to use on a commercial scale.