University of Maryland's Scientists Receive $3.2 Million Grant for Poplar Hybrid Biofuel Research

University of Maryland and Bowie State University researchers have been awarded a four-year $3.2 million grant from the Plant Genome Research Project of the National Science Foundation for developing poplar hybrid that could be potentially used for biofuel production including ethanol. Biofuels are blended into gasoline for use in many applications including for flex-fuel vehicles.

According to the researchers from the universities, the poplars are currently being used for timber and for producing paper. They are of the view that trees and crops are needed exclusively for fuel production and not for food. In order to use the poplar for producing biofuels, the growth cycle of the trees should be accelerated, researchers said.