The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded grants totaling $2.9 million for three biofuel projects at Michigan State University. The research projects involve: categorizing the greenhouse gas emission benefits of woody biomass energy, studying the pests that affect grasses used for bioenergy, and identifying the ways to use biofuel production byproducts. The U.S. Department of Energy has separately awarded $4.3 million to the Michigan Biotechnology Institute (MBI) to support similar work involving the conversion of non-food renewable resources into energy. All the funded research will involve MBI, the Lansing-based non-profit entity that is part of the MSU Foundation aiming to help prepare bio-based technologies and innovations for commercial use.