In the UK, new study from researchers, including those in Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Department of Chemical Engineering, has found the fastest-growing plant on Earth may offer a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to petroleum-derived transportation fuels. The researchers have demonstrated that bamboo could serve as a highly promising raw material for the production of sustainable liquid […]
In Germany, researchers from the University of Greifswald are therefore investigating how biochemical procedures may help to break plastics down into their individual chemical building blocks and make them available for a new product cycle. In two new publications in the scientific journals Nature Chemical Biology and Nature, two teams around Greifswald biochemist Prof. Dr. […]
In Illinois, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center will expand its capacity to advance pioneering research, prepare a skilled workforce and help companies bring new bioproducts to market through a $17 million investment announced Friday, Oct. 9, at NCERC alongside state and federal leaders. The investment includes $15 million from the State of Illinois […]
In Japan, Mazda Motor Corporation announced that its research and development project, “Development of High-Density Microalgal Biofuel,” aimed at real-world deployment of biodiesel fuel (HVO) refined from lipids extracted from microalgae, has been selected for the FY2026 “Program to Develop and Promote the Commercialization of Energy Conservation Technologies to Realize a Decarbonized Society” of the […]
In Ukraine, Ue.news reported that researchers at Oregon State University in the United States have created a light-sensitive material capable of producing hydrogen from water without using an additional expensive metal catalyst. The material is the BVR-19 photocatalyst — a metal-organic framework activated by light that can accelerate the hydrogen-generation reaction. The work was led […]
In Brazil, a study in Biomass and Bioenergy examines sustainable alcohol-diesel blends as a way to reduce fossil-fuel use in transportation. The research assesses alcohols including ethanol and their effects when blended with diesel, focusing on combustion behavior, emissions and overall energy-transition potential. Such blends could offer a relatively simple pathway for using renewable alcohols […]
In Brazil, Sciencemag reports scientists have discovered 47 cultivable fungal isolates in wood, fabric, rope and soil from the historic Whalers Bay site on Antarctica’s Deception Island. The fungi produced cold-active enzymes including amylase, cellulase, inulinase and pectinase, which could have applications in food processing, detergents, textiles and other industries while reducing energy-intensive heating. Particularly […]
In Scotland, engineers from universities in Scotland and Japan are planning to boldly go where no dram has gone before with the launch of a new research project to distil whisky in space. The researchers are planning to send whisky-making materials into space aboard a tiny satellite and use an artificial ‘tongue’ to taste tiny […]
In California, researchers have landed a $591,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture project designed to convert renewable plant material into n-butyraldehyde, a chemical used to produce sustainable aviation fuel and biodiesel. This isn’t designed to fuel your everyday automobile or lawnmower. They include 18-wheelers and heavy farm equipment – […]
In the UK, Loughborough University said that researchers from EnerHy, the EPSRC Center for Doctoral Training, have developed an innovative system that turns solar heat into green hydrogen. The team developed a solar farm measurement system and a thermally integrated photovoltaic-electrolyzer designed to improve the efficiency of green hydrogen production. The project, created as part […]
