In New York state, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have engineered duckweed to produce high yields of oil. The team added genes to one of nature’s fastest growing aquatic plants to “push” the synthesis of fatty acids, “pull” those fatty acids into […]
In Indiana, United Soybean Board (USB) announced the award of $1.1 million to the Purdue University Food Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing Institute (FEMI), in partnership with the University of Arkansas and the University of Missouri, for a joint project that is working to build infrastructure and connectivity for small- and medium-scale processing of soy-based value-added products. […]
In New York state, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science has selected Brookhaven National Laboratory to lead a new research effort focused on potential threats to crops grown for bioenergy production. Understanding how such bioenergy crops could be harmed by known or new pests or pathogens could help speed the development of […]
In California, seeking solutions to counteract the rise in plastic trash, scientists at the University of California San Diego have developed new biodegradable materials that are designed to replace conventionally used plastic. After proving their polyurethane foams biodegrade in land-based composts, an interdisciplinary team of scientists have now shown that the material biodegrades in seawater. […]
In Singapore, a new study commissioned by SEA-LNG has found that liquified bio-methane (bio-LNG) can make a major contribution to maritime decarbonization. Conducted by the Maritime Energy and Sustainable Development Center of Excellence (MESD CoE) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), the study explored questions around fuel availability, cost, lifecycle emissions and logistics, providing […]
In China, with the help of genetic manipulation and advanced biophysical tools, an international research team has gained unexpected insight into how a bacterium uptakes sugars derived from plant feedstock. Their findings were published on Sept. 7 in mBio. The bacterium, Clostridium thermocellum, has long been a lead contender in the sustainable industrial production of […]
In Maryland, University of Maryland researcher was awarded $2.6 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate the genetics underlying how poplar trees sense nutrients and regulate their metabolism—information that could help farmers maximize yields of this and other plants used in biofuel production. Dedicated biomass crops like poplar, switchgrass, miscanthus and bamboo are […]
In Brazil, a team of researchers has successfully converted methane into methanol using light and scattered transition metals such as copper in a process known as photo-oxidation. The reaction was the best achieved to date for converting methane gas into liquid fuel at ambient temperature and pressure (25 °C and 1 bar, respectively), according to […]
In Oklahoma, funded by the Department of Energy, a theoretical study led researchers at the University of Oklahoma is modeling how carbon dioxide could be combined with ethylene, the most common industrial chemical, to make acrylic acid, a common component of many household industrial products. Acrylic acid is used to make disposable diapers, clothing, plastics, […]
In Texas, a team of Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists has developed a system that uses carbon dioxide to produce bioplastics. Susie Dai, associate professor in the Texas A&M Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, noted that today’s petroleum-based plastics do not degrade easily and create a massive issue in the ecosystems and, ultimately, oceans. […]
