In Alabama, researchers at Auburn University were recently granted nearly $500,000 from the Department of Energy-Fossil Energy to produce hydrogen energy that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste plastics problems. To produce this hydrogen energy, researchers will blend a coal, plastic and biomass mixture to be gasified and turned into hydrogen energy. The coal […]
In California, Scientists at Stanford University and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory made a new catalyst, based on nickel atoms, that works with either heat or electricity and accelerates a reaction for turning carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide – the first step in making fuels and useful chemicals from CO2. Their work […]
In New York state, scientists from Brookhaven National Laboratory studying the biochemistry of plant cell walls have identified an enzyme that could turn woody poplar trees into a source for producing a major industrial chemical. The research, just published in Nature Plants, could lead to a new sustainable pathway for making “p-hydroxybenzoic acid,” a chemical […]
In Ohio, growing pennycress—often called stinkweed—as a crop requires less fertilizer and fewer pesticides than other plants that can be used to make renewable jet fuel, according to a new study from researchers at Ohio State University. Pennycress also requires fewer farm operations, such as soil tilling, than other potential biofuel crops, reducing the associated […]
In Alaska, kelp is plentiful in remote, coastal Alaska. Fuel is not. And it’s expensive. Many isolated communities rely on diesel generators for energy because they are not connected to pipelines or the electrical grid. But diesel is expensive since it must be barged or flown in. In search of a cheaper, sustainable fuel, researchers […]
In Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed a new catalyst for converting ethanol into C3+ olefins—the chemical building blocks for renewable jet fuel and diesel—that pushes the amount produced to a record-high 88%, a more than 10% gain over their previously developed catalyst. In the search for new catalysts, researchers achieved the record […]
In Washington, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers are forming a clearer picture of how plant matter is transformed in the microbial gardens the ants create. This detailed understanding of how fungus degrades biomass could one day help scientists develop microbial systems for sustainable bioproduct production, such as biofuels or renewable chemicals. In the latest of […]
In Colorado, as much as one-third of the carbon in sugar is lost as carbon dioxide (CO2) during fermentation processes that use biomass to make renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). That waste CO2 translates into notable consequences for biorefiners scrambling to meet demand for low-carbon biofuels. Less carbon makes it into the fuel, […]
In Washington state, through decades of fundamental research, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have contributed detailed information about how catalysts help convert energy into molecular bonds, storing the energy by making bonds and releasing it by breaking bonds. Now, a team is working to turn chemical energy storage into practical setups that could […]
In Australia, while agricultural production around the world struggles with declining soil health, Australian researchers are investigating production of a sustainable organic nitrogen fertilizer made from aquatic cyanobacterial biomass—ideally suited for badly degraded areas reliant on chemical fertilizers. Scientists in Australia, US and Europe are testing a new biofertilizer made from a fast-growing freshwater cyanobacterium […]
