In Massachusetts, microbial species that grow in environments where carbon is mainly available as lignin are promising for finding new ways of removing lignin that protects cellulose for improved conversion of lignin to fuel precursors. One candidate species that can use lignin for growth in the absence of oxygen is Enterobacter lignolyticus SCF1, a bacterium […]
In India, researchers at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology genetically modified a fungus in order to increase the production of enzymes helpful in converting cellulose into simple fermentable sugars. ICGEB’s research could help produce double the amount of biofuel from agricultural waste materials. The genetically engineered fungus could be a valuable alternative […]
In the UK, CPI, the UK’s technology innovation provider for process manufacturing, announced that its partnership with Green Lizard Technologies (GLT), and their licensed company Oleocycle Ltd, will be providing a second-use to waste cooking oils via a novel one-step pilot plant that converts oils into low sulfur biodiesel feedstocks, and a range of other […]
In Canada, researchers from the University of Calgary have found a way to produce a higher quality, more stable fuel from biowaste, such as sewage, that is simpler and cleaner than existing methods. The researchers used methane instead of hydrogen for the purification process and they used it directly in the crude stage, but they […]
In Maryland, the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) has been awarded a $1.1 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant to elucidate the mechanism of rust pathogenesis in poplar in an effort to engineer durable resistance for this important, second generation biofuel crop. The aim of the three-year project is to investigate the molecular […]
In Massachusetts, a new report from MIT Sloan professor John Sterman supports the growing argument that burning wood pellets for power is worse for the climate than burning coal, because of the short-term effects and the “potentially irreversible impacts that may arise before the long-run benefits are realized.” “Because combustion and processing efficiencies for wood […]
In Connecticut, Yale University researchers in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology found that by accounting for changes in an organism’s plasticity they can develop better population predictions for phytoplankton, which can prove beneficial for biofuel operations. Higher biofuel yields could be obtained by growing algae in environments with fluctuating temperatures rather than by […]
In Nebraska, a team at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln is exploring sweet sorghum ethanol as a future income source for dryland agriculture in western Nebraska. Considering factors such as yield and the cost of processing, researchers estimate that the current sorghum to ethanol pathway is a barely break-even prospect in western Nebraska. Another consideration which […]
In Switzerland, new EU regulation aims to shrink the environmental footprint of biofuels starting in 2021. But an EPFL scientist thinks we should go one step further and take into account all compounds produced at biorefineries, not just biofuel. And he has developed a model for doing just that. The hitch is that until now, […]
In Canada, group of researchers, led by the University of Toronto Ted Sargent group, just published results using waste CO2 to produce plastic. Using the Canadian Light Source and a new technique exclusive to the facility, they were able to pinpoint the conditions that convert CO2 to ethylene most efficiently. Ethylene, in turn, is used […]
