In a basement laboratory at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, researchers are defining the next frontier of renewable energy, one tiny drop at a time.

Tiny vials of amber liquid are droplets in a wave of research by the School of Mines and KL Energy of Rapid City, aimed at unlocking the vast supplies of energy now growing on millions of acres of prairie grass and Black Hills pines.

The trick is how to extract that energy efficiently enough to make energy-generation from such plant materials economical. That is the focus of the KL work that has already brought development techniques close to commercial application.

But separate lab work at Mines also seeks ways to power U.S. Air Force jets and other aircraft on synthetic blends that include biofuels. That's the emphasis of a new research program at Mines in the Center for Bioprocessing Research and Development.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., recently checked in on the KL research, which shares facilities with the new bioprocessing center created with $2.5 million in state funds. Thune was especially interested in the center itself, because it will receive $1 million in crucial initial research funding through a recent U.S. Senate authorization in a larger Defense Department funding bill.

Thune joined Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, in working for the appropriation, which still needs U.S. House approval.

Thune also pushed an amendment to a Defense bill setting goals for the U.S. Air Force to use more synthetic fuels in its aircraft, with a goal of making synthetic blends half of its fuel supply by 2016. During his Mines tour, the senator said the value of the research here could stretch around the world in military applications.

"This is important to our energy future, but also to our national security by making us less dependent of foreign energy sources," Thune said. "And it'll be good for rural South Dakota with the development, through the kind of research work right here at Mines, of conversion processes for these sources of lignocellulosic biomass."

That tongue-twisting scientific term is a technical definition of forest products and debris, prairie grass and agricultural waste such as corn stover and cobs. And the Mines research, both public and private, seeks to find ways to turn those seemingly mundane materials into reliable fuels.

Mines is working in a partnership with South Dakota State University, which stands to gain $3 million through the Defense package for its own work in biofuel development.

The SDSU research is designed to produce a synthetic jet fuel from prairie cord grass. The Mines project seeks to improve the biofuel conversion process and find new production methods with a variety of feed stocks, including woody biomass from the Black Hills, which is of particular interest to KL.

Although their work is separate with more defined goals toward private enterprise, the collaborative effort offers a glimpse of a future worth pursuing, Thune said.

"This is part of a renewable energy boom," he said.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., will take up the project funding cause in the House of Representatives. The value of biofuels research and development is obvious, as are its military applications, she said.

"The Department of Defense, as the largest user of aviation fuel in the U.S., is uniquely situated to be both a leader and an early adopter of alternative fuels that will lessen the military's reliance on petroleum-based fuels," she said.

Lew Christopher, a Mines professor and director of the bioprocessing center, said the $1 million in federal funds is an important beginning.

"This is just the first request," he said. "We hope it will be continued."

The KL research is separate from the work to be done by the bioprocessing center through the appropriations. But it's all tied together in a field of biofuels research and development with a promising future, KL research team leader Keith Flanegan said.

"Collaborating with the government and the military is very helpful for us and ties in to our own company's vision for having energy independence," he said. "We certainly want to help with the fuel supply, so that it's safe and secure and we don't have to worry about fuel coming from unstable geographic regions."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com