In Washington state, researchers at Washington State University are taking a closer look at the genetics and physiology of pennycress, as part of a multi-institutional, $12.9 million research project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, and led by Illinois State University. Their five-year goal: to help develop a winter cover crop that can thrive […]
In Florida, from southeastern Florida to northern Mississippi to the Midwestern Corn Belt, CABBI scientists have struck sustainable oil with sugarcane. But the crop’s potential value to the renewable energy sector earns this particular variety a more appropriate designation: oilcane. A groundbreaking endeavor uniting CABBI’s Feedstock Production and Conversion themes is coming to fruition with […]
In Germany, an EU-funded research project BIOCARB-4-FOOD with the participation of the University of Hohenheim is looking for more sustainable processes for the extraction of carbohydrates from macroalgae and seaweed. In doing so, they investigate the question of how these substances can be obtained from the raw material, produce new types of extracts that can […]
In Illinois, an international research team has sequenced the full genome of an ornamental variety of miscanthus, a wild perennial grass emerging as a prime candidate for sustainable bioenergy crops. The genome project—led by scientists at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), a Department of Energy (DOE) bioenergy research center—provides a road […]
In Russia, a chemist from RUDN University developed a silica-supported heteropolyacid system to produce ethers from waste products of the wood and paper industry and agriculture. Ethers can be used as biofuels, and the new method increases the efficiency of their production 4 to 10 times, thus reducing energy consumption and making the manufacturing of […]
In France, sharing efforts between biofuel production, the transition to reduced-meat diets and the reforestation of pastures would be a far better option for tomorrow’s agriculture than focusing on just one of these strategies. This mix would simultaneously address the goals of food security, biodiversity conservation and emissions reductions, according to a study published by […]
In Australia, researchers from RMIT University have developed a powerful, low-cost method for recycling used cooking oil and agricultural waste into biodiesel, and turning food scraps and plastic rubbish into high-value products. The method harnesses a new type of ultra-efficient catalyst that can make low-carbon biodiesel and other valuable complex molecules out of diverse, impure […]
In California, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office’s Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shared two software applications that standardize bioreactor feeding processes that enable the wider biotech community to focus resources on the commercializing of technologies. The open source software applications, alongside a set of […]
In Norway, in the future, the world may increasingly rely on renewable biomass resources for the provision of food, fodder, fiber and fuel. How this transition to a bioeconomy will affect Nordic water resources, is something BIOWATER, a Nordic Centre of Excellence, is currently looking into. In a recent special issue of the human environment […]
In Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh has partnered with Agra Energy Corp. to promote a new technology that converts biogas to fuel. The renewable solution makes use of Agra Energy’s Micro-GTL (gas-to-liquids) technology that converts methane-rich biogas into liquid fuels that meet diesel fuel specifications. A Micro-GTL pilot unit is installed and connected to […]
