About the authors
Robert C. Brown is Anson Marston Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Gary and Donna Hoover Chair in Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU). He is the founding director of ISU’s Bioeconomy Institute and helped establish ISU’s Biorenewable Resources and Technology interdisciplinary graduate program. He is well known for his research on the production and use of biofuels.
Tristan R. Brown is an attorney employed as a research associate at Iowa State University's Bioeconomy Institute. He has published on topics ranging from greenhouse gas emissions policy to global trade law to engineering economics. He also teaches a graduate-level course on biorenewables law and policy.
Proudly announcing the publication of
Why Are We Producing Biofuels? is written for those who are curious about efforts to introduce biofuels into our energy supply but are not satisfied with the publically accessible information on the subject. Written by experts in the field, this book provides educators, policy makers, and business leaders, and the general public with an insider’s understanding of the current research in the field as well as an appreciation of the debates surrounding biofuels.
This book explores the opportunity to advance a sustainable energy future through the development of advanced biofuels. By examining the emergence of first generation biofuels and the kinds of technologies being developed for advanced biofuels, the book also articulates the challenges that must be overcome:
- Will the industry be driven by technological innovation or government policy?
- If not gasoline and diesel, what fuel will propel our vehicles?
- How is it that we are using food crops to produce motor fuels?
- What do the recent criticisms about biofuels portend for its future?
- How is it possible that a renewable fuel can contribute to global climate change?
- What kinds of biomass occur in sufficient quantity to help displace imported petroleum?
- How can these feedstocks be transformed into transportation fuels?
- What is the most likely future of fuels?