Bob Kozak, 54, of Atlantic Biomass Conversions did, and he is doing it right here in Frederick . Kozak is developing a way to use enzymes to extract methanol from the pulp and use it to make high energy fuel

Kozak's life obsession with fuel began with his love of car racing.

"In the Midwest it's almost a cultural thing, going to the quarter-track with your dad on weekends," Kozak said.

He learned that although a racecar may seem to guzzle fuel, its engine is one of the more efficient processors known. The young man carried this fascination over into thinking about solutions to the ever-mounting cost of fuel.

Atlantic Biomass Conversions' mission is to help solve the energy crisis and issues brought on by moderate climate changes by transforming high-energy, low-value crops into gasoline and diesel substitutes.

Within the next two years, Atlantic Biomass Conversions is planning to use its product as JP-8 jet fuel for the U. S. Air Force, making the military its first customer. Eventually Kozak hopes to use his product to supply a variety of commercial interests.

"In a nutshell, we want America to have a sustainable source of energy and not be dependent on foreign countries for oil," he said.

For the past several years, the concentration on developing renewable energy sources has focused on ethanol, which is derived from the fermentation of corn. Kozak believes this is no answer.

"You couldn't invent a worse form of fuel than ethanol if you tried. Ethanol makes great politics but represents horrible technology. It's got less energy than methanol and adheres to water," he said. "The use of corn is not practical. It's a crop that requires a high amount of nitrogen input. Most of the corn gets wasted in its production of ethanol. They use about 30 percent of the corn and throw the rest out."

"What we need is a process that allows for the majority, if not all, of the plant to be used," he saiid. "We also need a system that uses a variety of crops, making it, in a sense, crop neutral."

Take sugar beets, for example. Farmers are growing and using them, as the name implies, for sugar. But once the sugar is extracted, the remaining pulp is discarded or sold as feed. Kozak believes that he can convert this pulp into a high-energy source.

The sugar beet farmer would, in effect, continue to profit from the sugar derived from the beet, but with the added benefit of profiting from the fuel derived from the pulp.

Eventually, Kozak would like to use his process to produce fuel from a variety of perennial grasses.

"It makes a lot of sense to use high-energy perennial grasses, because they have low nutritional needs. The kind of grasses that you can just plant and forget," he said.

University of Maryland Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering Nam Sung Wang, an expert in the field of alternative energy sources, agrees that in order to solve the energy crisis a variety of resources must be utilized; however, he does not think methanol alone is the answer.

"Methanol alone will not solve the energy crisis but it will definitely contribute. I think there is a very bright future in it because the energy crisis is not going away," Wang said.

Kozak is the only full-time employee of Atlantic Biomass Conversions. The majority of his research is done at Hood College with the assistance of Prof. Craig Laufer, a few graduate students and selected undergraduates.

"It's a great situation for everyone. Through various grants, this effort brings money into the school, and I benefit from the college resources and its student workforce," he said, "The students benefit because they get the opportunity to work on cutting-edge products. They're not working on some abstract idea in class but rather getting real-world experience that will help them in the job market."

Laufer agrees.

"Working with Bob Kozak has provided a lot of opportunities for our students here at Hood. It gives them experience in real-life research, it's great for training, and it's fun," he said.

Atlantic Biomass was founded in 2000 and moved from Washington to Frederick in 2002. Kozak moved his company to Maryland because of the state's willingness to help companies such as his with funding. He chose Frederick because of its growing biotechnology industry.

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