research articles

Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is an emerging leader in sustainable energy research and education, with initiatives such as the Center for Clean Energy Research and Education (CENCERE). The following articles address issues relevant to renewable energy and reducing world dependency on fossil fuels.

Beneficial Electrification

Under the auspice of the Center for American Rural Energy (CARE), students were engaged in a study of benefits of electrification at Charleston Stone, a local quarry.  During the project, students were mentored by Kim Leftwich, President/CEO of Coles Moultrie Electric Cooperative.  Participated students include Tajdar Ahmed, Tanmay Pant and Ayaz Khamisani.  Click here for a full report.

Exploratory Study on Gasification of Pelletized Grassy Biomass

Dr. Peter Ping Liu and Dr. Jerry Cloward have had their report Exploratory Study on Gasification of Pelletized Grassy Biomass published by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center. This exploratory project studied the characteristics of grassy biomass (switchgrass) pellets in terms of their gasification behavior and identified realistic operation conditions for those grasses, either native or readily available in the State of Illinois. The project examined parameters to successfully gasify pelletized grassy biomass as a source of renewable energy and obtained operational and experimental data to support further modeling of grassy biomass gasification. Click here to read this report. 

Using Plants and Fungi for Bioenergy

  Thomas Canam is an Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Eastern lllinois University. His research focuses on using plants for bioenergy and bioproduct applications. One aspect of his research involves using biotechnology to tailor plant traits for specific applications, such as bioethanol production. 

Development of Sustainable Bioenergy Feedstocks

  Jill Deppe is an Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Eastern lllinois University. Her research is driven by an interest in understanding wildlife-habitat associations. Her research  projects are diverse but aim to understand the factors explaining why species occur where and when they do, patterns of animal movement in search of suitable conditions, and the consequences of movement and habitat selection on fitness and species distributions at various scales. 

Chinese Students Strive for Biomass Breakthrough

 Wei Wang, a graduate student in Technology, is currently working with Dr. Peter Ping Liu and Dr. Jerry Cloward to compare the energy conversion efficiency from burning different biomass. According to Wei, higher conversion efficiency fuels could be identified through comparison, thus providing more alternatives for renewable energy resources and gradually replacing the burning of fossil fuels.

 Harnessing Renewable Energy with Sustainable Bioenergy

 Sunil Thapa is the first applicant for the Masters of Science in Sustainable Energy program at EIU. He is an international student who grew-up in a rural community in the country of Nepal, a nation situated between India and China. Under the direction of Dr. Tom Canam, a faculty member in the EIU Biological Sciences Department, Suni is researching natural means (such as cellobiose dehydrogenase deficiet strain (m4D) of Trametes versicolor) to modify lignin from bioenergy crops such as Miscanthus straw.