In Illinois, until now, producers have had to rely on incomplete information and unrealistic, small-scale studies in guiding their decisions about which feedstocks to grow, and where. A new multi-institution report provides practical agronomic data for five cellulosic feedstocks, which could improve adoption and increase production across the country. The project, backed by the U.S. […]
In Washington state, PNNL, working with the National Corn Growers Association, was exploring ways that sorbitol, a corn-derived sugar alcohol typically used as a sugar substitute, could be used to create propylene glycol (PG). Funded by DOE’s Bioenergy Technology Office, the-funded project succeeded. The team discovered a catalyst that efficiently made PG not only from […]
In Georgia, Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. announced the award of a $3 million grant from the USDA to support the commercialization of patented and patent-pending lignin conversion and refining technologies owned by Meridian’s subsidiary, Attis Innovations, Inc. Attis Innovations is the combination of recent transactions with American Science and Technology Corp. and Advanced Lignin Biocomposites […]
In Germany, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are set to conduct joint research flights in Germany for the first time. The focus will be on alternative fuel emissions and the characterization of ice crystals in condensation trails, using biofuel as an example. The first joint DLR/NASA […]
In North Carolina, N.C. Bioenergy Research Initiative recently awarded $1 million in grants for 11 research projects to boost bioenergy opportunities and production in the state. Below is a list of grant amounts, recipients and projects: $91,944 to the N.C. State University Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources for a “Loblolly Pine Biomass Genetics/Cropping Study, […]
In California, Salk Institute scientists studying a plant protein called SOBER1 recently discovered one mechanism by which, counterintuitively, plants seem to render themselves less resistant to infection. The work, which appeared in Nature Communications, sheds light on plant resistance generally and could lead to strategies to boost plants’ natural immunity or to better contain infections […]
In India, the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science and Technology has teamed with the Center for International Scientific Cooperation of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of Iran in a joint call for research proposals on a wide range of topics including microbial biotechnology with an emphasis on cellulosic […]
In the UK, a multinational team of researchers, from the UK, Brazil and the US, has pinpointed a gene involved in the stiffening of cell walls whose suppression increased the release of sugars by up to 60%. Their findings are reported Monday in New Phytologist. In the team’s genetically modified plants, a transgene suppresses the […]
In India, Madurai Kamaraj University signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S.-based Extreme ProTech to collaborate on research together in the fields of extremozymes, biopolymers and biofuel production based on micro-organisms. MKU also signed another MoU with South Dakota School of Mines and Technology which involves a staff exchange, student and faculty visits between the […]
In Iowa, a research team led by a scientist from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has demonstrated for the first time that the magnetic fields of bacterial cells and magnetic nano-objects in liquid can be studied at high resolution using electron microscopy. This proof-of-principle capability allows first-hand observation of liquid environment phenomena, and […]
