|
Research, Education, and Laboratory Services
 Through its three divisions, WIST offers laboratory services, outreach education, and research to create sustainability solutions for businesses and organizations. Technology and ideas developed by WIST and its partners will spur economic growth in Wisconsin and the region and help all of us preserve and protect a healthy environment for future generations.
|
|
Greetings!
There is a lot happening at WIST, as you'll see below. Thank you for your continued interest in the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology.
Best regards,
Paul Fowler
Executive Director
|
|
WIST staff Europe-bound
 | | Don Guay |
Three WIST staff members are traveling to Europe this month to meet with counterparts there in industry and research.
Dr. Don Guay, WIST director of laboratory services, and Kelly Klaas, WIST laboratory manager, will be presenting at three universities from March 22-26. Guay's presentations will focus on the status of bioenergy development in the U.S. and Klaas will talk about management differences between the U.S. and Germany and Finland. Guay and Klaas will appear at Munich University of Applied Sciences - Munich, Germany; JAMK University of Applied Sciences - Jyvaskyla, Finland; and TAMK University of Applied Sciences - Tampere, Finland.
 | | Kelly Klaas |
Guay and Klaas also are scheduled to meet with pulp and paper industry companies in Germany and Finland to discuss WIST testing services. WIST labs are equipped and staffed to provide a wide range of quality testing, analysis and research and development services, and already work with several European customers.
Dr. Eric Singsaas, WIST director of research, will attend the Worldbiofuels Markets Congress in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, March 22-24. The conference, with more than 1,000 delegates registered, aims to stimulate innovation and advance partnerships across the entire biofuels industry.
 | | Eric Singsaas |
Singsaas is also scheduled to meet with German chemical manufacturers about developing renewable bio-based chemicals for their industry. |
|
WIST researchers publish patent application
WIST researchers have published a patent application for the production of isoprene using a host transgenic microorganism - a genetically modified bacteria. Isoprene is a valuable feedstock used in the production of latex, rubber, plastics and pharmaceuticals, and it can also be used to produce liquid aviation fuels. It is currently produced from oil, and the global isoprene market is about $2 billion. However, WIST has engineered microbes that convert sugars from biomass into energy-dense chemicals such as isoprene and related chemicals, thus creating the potential to obtain isoprene from renewable sources. WIST's published patent application covers the invention of a microorganism and comprises the steps of obtaining a host transgenic microorganism and observing isoprene production from that microorganism.
WIST proposes to produce isoprene from biomass from pulp and paper mill waste streams. Our goal is to develop an isoprene production unit that will integrate with a biorefinery we are developing. This unit will use engineered microbes to ferment wood sugars to isoprene. We have demonstrated these processes at the laboratory scale and are now deploying at the pilot scale. When scaled up, this process would provide great environmental and economic benefit to Wisconsin and beyond.
You can read more about WIST research by following this link to our website and then clicking the research brochure.
|
|
New lab services brochure
WIST's pilot paper machine and pulp and paper testing laboratories provide quality service to the industry. The staff and lab also are available for research and development projects. WIST has published a new brochure about its pulp and paper industry testing services. Check out this link to the WIST website and then follow the link on the bottom of the page to view the brochure. WIST laboratory services brochure
. |
|
|
|
|
