In Massachusetts, a team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) received a nearly $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to create renewable fuel from sewage sludge, a byproduct of wastewater treatment that creates greenhouse gases and water pollution when dumped into landfills. With the U.S. EPA reporting that Americans alone […]
In Colorado, a foundational study conducted by scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) shows for the first time that white-rot fungi are able to use carbon captured from lignin as a carbon source. The research confirms a hypothesis the senior author of a newly published paper. Until now, scientists were unsure whether white-rot […]
In the United Kingdom, the first dedicated, independent study into Miscanthus life cycles shows that the above ground biomass grows annually and recycles all the carbon that’s been produced through planting, harvesting and burning the crop for renewable electricity, and at the same time, the underground rhizome and decaying leaf litter fixes and stores net […]
In India, according to the Times of India newspaper, the Dharashiv Sugar Mill in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra is the first in the country to trial the production of medical oxygen from ethanol production in the face of the growing COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Demand for medical oxygen has soared as cases have gone […]
In Illinois, new studies from the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) indicate the need to adopt more targeted policies that value the environmental and ecosystem benefits of perennial bioenergy crops over cheaper options—and provide financial incentives for farmers to grow them. The RFS was issued in 2005 and updated through the Energy […]
In California, a team of researchers from UC Santa Barbara has proposed a novel strategy for reducing large amounts of nutrients—specifically nitrogen and phosphorous—after they have already been released into the environment. In a study appearing in the journal Marine Policy, the authors contend that seaweed’s incredible ability to draw nutrients from the water could […]
In California, although many organisms capture and respond to sunlight, enzymes – proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions – are rarely driven by light. Scientists have identified only three types of natural photoenzymes so far. The newest one, discovered in 2017, is fatty acid photodecarboxylase (FAP). Derived from microscopic algae, it uses blue light to catalyze […]
In Germany, University of Hohenheim and the Fraunhofer WKI researchers succeeded in extracting the basic chemical hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from old baked goods that can no longer be marketed as food as a way to use HMF as a starting material for biobased plastics. With HMF, a starting material is available that can, for example, replace […]
In Singapore, ADM opened its Biopolis research hub in Singapore. The lab will develop next-level, on-trend and nutritious products to meet growing food and beverage demand in the Asia-Pacific region. The ADM Biopolis research hub in Singapore features a wide range of capabilities, including a food and flavor analytic lab; a beverage and dairy applications […]
In Virginia, Virginia Tech scientists report a new way to extract the protein and fiber from brewer’s spent grain and use it to create new types of protein sources, biofuels and more. Craft brewing has become more popular than ever in the U.S. This increased demand has led to an increase in production, generating a […]
