In California, Amyris announced that it has executed an agreement for a significant project consortium in Europe with the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) Porto Campus and AICEP Portugal Global (AICEP). UCP is a university system, including the leading biotech school in Portugal, and operates 15 research centers. AICEP is an independent public entity of the […]
In Asia, team of researchers with members from institutions in Singapore, China and the U.K. has found a way to improve electron transfer in enzymatic biofuel cells. In their paper published in the journal Nature Energy, they describe their technique and how well it works. Huajie Yin and Zhiyong Tang with Griffith University in Australia […]
In Washington state, ASTM International recently revised ASTM D7566 Annex A5 — the Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons — to add ethanol as an approved feedstock for producing alcohol-to-jet synthetic paraffinic kerosene (ATJ-SPK). The revision of ASTM D7566 Annex A5 clears the way for increased adoption of sustainable aviation fuels because […]
In Germany, Technical University of Munich researchers developed an alternative to traditional insecticides that endanger bees, other beneficial insects, waterways, and soil. The new biodegradable agent keeps pests at bay without poisoning them by using cembratrienol, which is found in tobacco plant leaves. The molecule helps the plant protect itself from pests and acts as […]
In Colorado, if there’s an easier, more efficient method, science will find a way. That’s certainly the case in producing cellulosic biofuels, which, at least for now, requires a two-step process to free the sugars trapped in plant matter and convert them into something else. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy […]
In Florida, University of Florida scientists wondered how cheaply fuel ethanol can be made from inedible plant material—called biomass—using currently available technology. Their goal is to make this form of ethanol less expensively than gasoline and help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. But a UF bio-refinery pilot plant in Perry, Florida, uses crushed sugarcane and sweet sorghum […]
In Sweden, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Stora Enso. Through the agreement SLU and Stora Enso intend to establish a long-term collaboration in research and development, education, competence building, and innovation within the fields of forestry and bio-based materials. The main objective of the collaboration is […]
In California, a closed-loop biorefinery could dramatically lower the cost of biofuels and related products. In this approach, the refinery produces the solvents it needs, rather than “importing” them. Scientists at the Joint BioEnergy Institute are developing a closed-loop biorefinery concept that uses waste lignin as a potential process solvent. How? They synthesized a new […]
In Idaho, University of Idaho College of Natural Resources (CNR) Assistant Professor Tara Hudiburg was awarded $750,000 to study the sustainability of biofuels. The grant, award by the Department of Energy (DOE), is part of a $104 million project to create a new generation of sustainable, cost-effective bioproducts and bioenergy. Hudiburg is a co-principal investigator […]
In California, Scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to use machine learning to dramatically accelerate the design of microbes that produce biofuel. Their computer algorithm starts with abundant data about the proteins and metabolites in a biofuel-producing microbial pathway, but no information about how the […]
