In Germany, a team from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the University of Oxford has found out how hydrogen-producing enzymes, or so-called hydrogenases, are activated during their biosynthesis. They showed how the cofactor – a part of the active center and at the same time the heart of the enzyme – is introduced into the interior. […]
In Michigan, new research from Michigan State University, and published in the journal eLife, presents evidence that algae could have piggybacked on fungi to leave the water and to colonize the land, over 500 million years ago. Researchers selected a strain of soil fungus and marine alga from old lineages, respectively Mortierella elongata and Nannochloropsis […]
In New Mexico, new DNA analysis by Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers has revealed surprising genetic diversity in a bacterium that poses a persistent threat to the algae biofuels industry. With the evocative name Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus, the predatory pest sucks out the contents of the algae cells (thus the vampire reference) and reduces a productive, […]
In Canada, University of British Columbia research designed to turn ‘black liquor’—a by-product of pulp and paper manufacture—into consumer goods has received funding from Genome BC and the BC Pulp and Paper Bio-Alliance. The project valued at C$500,000 will develop biological methods that can be used to transform ‘black liquor’, a mixture of lignin and […]
In Idaho, researchers at the Idaho National Library are developing models that allow highly accurate simulations of the evolution of so-called geopolymers. Like all polymers, they are composed of small units, or monomers. These basic units can link together in a variety of ways, and different arrangements can result in polymers with very different properties. […]
In Washington, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists have developed a model that predicts outcomes from the algae hydrothermal liquefaction process in a way that mirrors commercial reality much more closely than previous analyses. They found that algae with higher lipid content is key to reducing costs, and that two factors—algae composition and capital investment—are the […]
In Germany, a leaked version of the final draft summary of an upcoming IPCC report says that bioenergy can provide benefits in reducing and mitigating climate change but it must be managed in such a way that does not risk food security, desertification and land degradation. The researchers estimate that in order to reduce those […]
In Illinois, the Renewable Fuel Association says two new academic studies released this week provide further evidence that grain-based ethanol is significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and call into question the reliability of recent “land use change” analyses based on flawed satellite imagery-based methodologies. These studies add to a large body of existing literature that […]
In India, the Times of India reports that Center of Excellence Farm Machinery has developed a simplified, semi-continuous process to produce biodiesel from any feedstock with fatty acid content of up to 10%, from jatropha to jojoba to animal fats, be it virgin oils or waste fats. The technology was developed with small and medium […]
In Michigan, whole-tree aspen logging promotes renewable biomass energy from tops and branches, parts of the tree that are often left in the forest during logging in favor of the tree’s trunk, using the residual that remains after a sustainable harvest for logs. It has long been assumed that removing the leaves and branches of […]
