BRISK – Biofuels Research Infrastructure for Sharing Knowledge – is a new European Commission co-funded ‘Research Infrastructure’ offering access to some 50 state of the art biofuels test facilities owned by the BRISK partners. The facilities cover the biofuels value chain from raw biomass processing right through to end use and disposal of residues. The EC support relates to deployment of these facilities for research on second generation (ligno-cellulosic) biofuels and will cover the cost of running the facilities, as well as a contribution to travel and subsistence for visiting researchers.

IFRF is one of 26 partners within the BRISK consortium, participation in which will help deliver some of the priority areas in the IFRF’s short to medium term Members Research agenda. In particular IFRF Members may participate actively or passively in BRISK funded experimental tests relating to the following IFRF Members’ Research agenda items:

• establish and test protocols for sharing experimental data
• establish and test criteria for validating numerical combustion models
• identify and quantify uncertainties in measurement techniques, including participation in round robins
• combustion or co-combustion test with biomass and/or wastes
• establish protocols for solid fuels combustion characterisation
• undertake experimental solid fuel characterisation work on 2nd Generation Biomass and Wastes
• allow your engineers to experience a shorter term ‘close encounter’ with industrial scale flames and other state of the art facilities (eg Members’ technical staff may wish to acquire experience of using the IFRF’s drop tube furnace, or the gasifier and gas clean up facilities at Pisa’s Energy Farm as well as any of the other BRISK test rigs)

IFRF Members wishing to explore opportunities to move forward in these or other areas, or to support IFRF initiatives in these areas, either alone or as part of a partnership, are invited to contact the IFRF’s Superintendent of Research via email to Neil Fricker or by phone to +44 1564 773636 (direct line).

Further information on the range of facilities available for Access can be found from the BRISK web site and in the current edition of the BRISK newsletter.