In Illinois, WTTW reports that the Cook County jail has implemented a new project that teaches inmates how to produce biodiesel from used cooking oil supplied by the jail’s cafeterias, and then the fuel produced fuels the jail’s two utility trucks exclusively. The jail invested $11,000 in the production kit last November and started offering […]
In Portugal, the Lusa news agency reports that the BLC3 association is working to produce advanced biofuels from vine and fruit tree and olive tree waste. More than half a million hectares of land grow these crops around the country, providing sufficient sources of biomass. The drop-in fuel that could also use crop waste as […]
In Missouri, researchers at Missouri University have teamed with Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis to use artificial intelligence in an effort to significantly reduce the cost of biodiesel production from algae by mapping the shapes and amino acids of proteins. With that information, bioengineers can then change the structure so it’s cheaper […]
In Germany, plant physiologists from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, the Universities of Geneva, Lausanne and the University of Lyon have jointly tracked down the internal molecular dialogue between the embryo and endosperm, genetically two different organisms, that is required for seed development. The communication of the embryo and the surrounding endosperm is based […]
In Washington, at the Washington Auto Show, Under Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes announced the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) investment of nearly $300 million in funding for research and development of sustainable transportation resources and technologies. This investment, split up between three, separate funding opportunity announcements (FOA), supports DOE’s goal of ensuring that […]
In Massachusetts, chemical engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are broadening attempts to convert waste into environmentally friendly biofuels, lowering reliance on fossil fuels, cutting the amount of municipal waste going into landfills, and reducing water pollution and unhealthy emissions from petroleum products and landfills. Now, with a $1,995,199 three-year grant from the Department of Energy […]
In Japan, research team at Kobe University has developed a method of artificially controlling the anchorage position of target proteins in engineered baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The research demonstrated that this technique could be utilized to improve the amount of ethanol produced from hydrothermally-processed rice straw by 30%. It is expected that these results will […]
In Spain, BIOGEARS is a new innovative project funded by the European Union under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund that is set to develop biobased gear solutions for the creation of an eco-friendly offshore aquaculture sector using a multitrophic approach and new biobased value chains. The current use of biobased plastic (produced from biomass […]
In Texas, a University of North Texas Regents Professor is questioning decades-old assumptions in plant biochemistry to find better ways of storing and using lipids, the energy molecules found in all plants. “Biofuels are the future and lipids are the key,” said Kent Chapman, the UNT Professor. “The same energy molecules a plant uses to […]
In Washington, poplar trees are widely used in commercial products, but, like several other tree species, they emit gases to the atmosphere that worsen air pollution and alter climate. Now field trials in Oregon and Arizona show that poplar trees, which emit trace amounts of the gas isoprene, can be genetically modified to leave air […]
