The Iowa Capitol complex has become a guinea pig for a new biofuel that is derived from sawdust. Today and tomorrow, state officials and researchers will attempt to run BioOil through the Capitol complex’s heating and cooling system, which currently runs on diesel fuel.

The Iowa Department of Administrative Services-General Services Enterprise (DAS-GSE), in partnership with Dynamotive Energy Systems Corp. and Biogreen Resources, will conduct the test at 11 a.m. each day in hopes of decreasing public dependence on petroleum-based fuels.

BioOil can be created from any cellulose plant material, including wood, switchgrass and corn. The primary byproduct of burning BioOil is biochar, an organic material that is carbon negative and can be integrated into the ground.

BioOil contains only half the thermal capacity of diesel fuel, so twice as much fuel would be burned to produce as much heat as diesel. Still, BioOil use would result in a 10 percent decrease in costs.

After the series of tests, the new biochar will be used at the National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames at Iowa State University.