In Michigan, scientists at Michigan State University developed synthetic biology tools to co-produce high-value compounds in plants. The new tools allow to produce both terpenoids and oil, a biofuel resource, in plant leaves. Modern applications for terpenoids range wide, from pharmaceuticals, fragrances, nutraceuticals and biopesticides, to chemical feedstocks. Terpenoids form the largest class of natural […]
In Canada, one of the objectives of IEA Bioenergy Task 39 is to enhance the understanding of the commonalities and differences between four well-recognized biofuels life cycle analysis (LCA) models (EU’s BIOGRACE, Canada’s GHGENIUS, USA’s GREET and Brazil’s VSB). These LCA models have been used globally by industry, policy makers and regulators to evaluate and […]
In the Netherlands, a team of researchers working at the University of Twente has solved the mystery of why a drop of oil bounces repeatedly when dropped in a water/ethanol gradient but eventually falls to the bottom of a jar. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the group describes their study […]
In New York state, biochemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered two ways that autophagy, or self-eating, controls the levels of oils in plant cells. The study, published in The Plant Cell on April 29, 2019, describes how this cannibalistic-sounding process actually helps plants survive. It also provides mechanistic details […]
In Spain, the EU-funded project A-LEAF is working towards a system that will use sunlight directly to transform waste carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable chemical fuels using a clean, fast and cost-effective process. The researchers are developing a device that replicates the natural process of photosynthesis carried out by green plants to store energy. The […]
In Germany, a research team from Ruhr-Universität Bochum has shown that operation in an oxygen-free environment significantly prolongs the life of the bioelectrode. “In order to generate energy sustainably and efficiently, we must not only understand but also overcome the processes that limit the lifetime of renewable energy conversion technologies,” says Wolfgang Schuhmann. The use […]
In Nebraska, a tiny invader’s gooey march through U.S. sorghum fields continues to devastate crop yields, forcing some farmers out of the sorghum business despite the crop’s increasing importance. A University of Nebraska–Lincoln entomologist is investigating ways to help sorghum naturally resist sugarcane aphids, the crop’s most damaging pest in the United States. Louis earned a […]
In Illinois, University of Illinois chemical engineers have assessed the technical and economic feasibility of a new electrolysis technology that uses a cheap biofuel byproduct to reduce the energy consumption of the waste-to-value process by 53 percent. The new findings are published in the journal Nature Energy. The new study proposes glycerol—an organic byproduct of […]
In Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have developed a sustainable way to demonstrate a new genetic modification that can increase the yield of natural oil in seeds by up to 15 per cent in laboratory conditions. The new method can be applied to crops such as canola, soybean and sunflower, which are […]
In North Carolina, engineers at Duke University are developing a smart robotic system for sniffing out pollution hotspots and sources of toxic leaks. Their approach enables a robot to incorporate complex calculations of airflows in confined spaces made on the fly, rather than simply guide the robot to ‘follow its nose’. Their approach combines physics-based […]
