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 […]
In California, Stanford scientists have found a new type of cellulose in bacteria with properties that could make it an improvement over traditional cellulose for fuels and other materials, or for better understanding and treating bacterial infections. They describe this modified cellulose, called pEtN, and its possible applications in the Jan. 18 issue of Science. […]
In Illinois, Archer Daniels Midland Company and China-based Qingdao Vland Biotech Group Co., Ltd. signed a joint development agreement for the development and commercialization of enzymes for animal feed applications. In addition to ADM’s research center in Decatur, Illinois, ADM will open a new U.S. enzyme research and development lab in California that will directly […]
In China, recent research published in a report in Nano showed biofuels were obtained from jatropha oil using carbon nanotube (CNT) catalyst, which showed efficient cracking activity. The performance was activated by the high stability, metal sites, acid sites, electroconductivity, and coking tolerance of CNT. Two cracking circulations were found in the hydroprocessing. The sulphur-free […]
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 […]
