BlackGold Biofuels of Charlotte, located in Charlotte, N.C., specializes in resource recovery from wastewater streams, focusing on the recycling of fat, oil, and grease-laden wastewaters from commercial kitchens and food processors. BlackGold uses the best available technologies to recover the highest economic and environmental value from these waste streams.

This innovative recycling facility in Charlotte receives grease trap waste that is generated in commercial kitchens during dishwashing and food preparation from local wastewater haulers. BlackGold removes trash and food particles from this wastewater and then extracts and purifies the recovered animal and vegetable fats, oils, and grease. The recovered oils are utilized in the production of biofuels, which offsets the use of petroleum-based fuels and strengthens regional energy security and domestic energy independence. The operating facility is fully permitted by state and local agencies.

The BlackGold facility reduces the burden on the region’s wastewater treatment plants by cleaning the water after it has been discharged from the commercial restaurants and before it reaches the local wastewater treatment plant. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency names blockages from this grease as a top culprit in sewer overflows nationwide, and a 2011 report from the Biofuels Center of North Carolina in conjunction with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities estimates this grease is responsible for more than 50 percent of Charlotte-area overflows. Currently in the U.S., grease trap waste is often landfilled or spread on fields.

BlackGold Biofuels, the developer behind BlackGold Biofuels of Charlotte, is based in Philadelphia where the company is building a network of these recycling facilities throughout the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions. Additional North Carolina facilities are under development in Winston-Salem and Raleigh.

To find out more about BlackGold Biofuels, visit www.blackgoldbiofuels.com.

The Perennial Grass Grower Assistance program was established in 2011 by N.C. State University with funding by the Biofuels Center of North Carolina to support the expansion of biomass acreage for biofuels production in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The program provides direct assistance to farmers and landowners by providing minimal cost to access equipment, crop materials, and labor to support the establishment of perennial biomass. Biomass types that can be established under this program are Switchgrass and Giant Miscanthus. Each grass should provide a 10-year minimum of biomass production following establishment with yields of more than seven dry tons per acre annually.

The impetus for this program is that the cost of establishing perennial grasses is the most expensive aspect of biomass production. Markets for these biomass materials are still emerging and the initial economic return opportunities may be marginal in the immediate years after establishment, so the Perennial Grass Grower Assistance program aims to spur grass production in the Piedmont at reduced costs. The program will provide direct establishment support, including: land preparation, necessary chemical applications through the first six months of establishment, and grass planting.

For more information about the program, contact N.C. State University assistant professor Dr. Matt Veal at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 919.515.6764.

East Carolina University associate professor Baohong Zhang is currently working on cutting-edge approaches to increasing feedstock yields of Switchgrass for biofuels. Dr. Zhang and his collaborators have found that Switchgrass biomass can be significantly increased by modifying a single small regulatory molecule, called microRNA. The Switchgrass that Zhang is working with has more leaves and a higher tolerance to environmental stressors. The team found that many small regulatory RNAs and their targeted protein-coding genes are expressed when Switchgrass seedlings are exposed to drought and salinity stresses.

By targeting these kinds of molecules in unique ways, it will be possible to increase the biomass yield of biofuels feedstock crops. The initial results obtained by Zhang and colleagues have already been published in peer-reviewed journals. Both graduate students and undergraduate students are involved in the biofuels-related projects. The students are learning to use 21st-century methods to improve crop biomass as well to improve plant tolerance to environmental biotic and abiotic stresses, including drought and salinity. Zhang also brings his expertise to his Plant Biotechnology course, which is offered each fall semester.

Dr. Zhang’s biofuels research is a significant component of the East Carolina University Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Initiative (IBI), in which new collaborations are being encouraged and multidisciplinary research projects developed for the state’s biotechnology industries, including the biofuels sector.

To learn more about Dr. Zhang's biofuels research and other projects, click here.

The Biofuels Center of North Carolina and the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) will hold a joint symposium on Friday, 8 February 2013, from 1 to 4 p.m. to highlight facilities, services, and other resources that add value for the commercialization of new technologies for biofuels and related bioproducts. The free event, Strengthening and Serving a Growing Biofuels Community, will be held at North Carolina’s Biofuels Campus in Oxford.

If you are interested in attending the event, please RSVP to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . For more information, contact North Carolina’s Biofuels Campus project manager This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .