Biomass Energy Conversion Center (BECON)

Virtual Tour

Arial Photograph



Floor Plan



BECON Virtual Tour

This project has evolved over the years from an investigation of Iowa’s biomass potential to investigating specific biomass conversion technologies. Currently, this project explores the conversion of biomass into heat and power by the process of gasification. In gasification, a fluidized bed reactor converts solid biomass into a gaseous mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The resulting gas can be used in a boiler, in an internal combustion engine, in a fuel cell or as the starting point for chemical production.

Because of its flexibility, gasification has been proposed as the basis for biorefineries that would provide a variety of energy and chemical products, including electricity and transportation fuels from biomass.