Category: Research

University of California, Irvine researchers using bacteria to produce hydrocarbons from industrial waste

August 30, 2017 | Meghan Sapp

In California, researchers at the University of California, Irvine envision growing the Actinobacter vinelandii bacteria on industrial carbon waste to generate hydrocarbons. They found that the A. vinelandii strain that expresses the nitrogenase enzyme can produce methane (CH4), ethylene (C2H4), ethane (C2H6), propylene (C3H6), propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10). So far they have optimized the […]

University of Illinois researchers look at biofuel processing catalyst made from palladium metal and bacteria

August 29, 2017 | Meghan Sapp

In Illinois, fuels that are produced from nonpetroleum-based biological sources may become greener and more affordable, thanks to research performed at the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute that examines the use of a processing catalyst made from palladium metal and bacteria. Published in the journal Fuel, their findings point to a cheaper, more environmentally […]

UC Berkeley researchers using nonphotosynthetic bacterium to produce chemicals from CO2

August 28, 2017 | Meghan Sapp

In California, photosynthesis provides energy for the vast majority of life on Earth. But chlorophyll, the green pigment that plants use to harvest sunlight, is relatively inefficient. To enable humans to capture more of the sun’s energy than natural photosynthesis can, scientists have taught bacteria to cover themselves in tiny, highly efficient solar panels to […]

Clemson gets USDA grant to evaluate biofuels effect on climate change

August 26, 2017 | admin

In South Carolina, Clemson University received a $147,744, two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to analyze how switchgrass fields and loblolly pine forests affect local temperatures through the exchange of water, energy, radiation and carbon with the atmosphere. The purpose of the project and grant is […]

Indian researchers believe toxic algal blooms could feed freshwater algae for biofuels

August 24, 2017 | Meghan Sapp

In India, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee have determined that toxic algal blooms can be a cheap, abundant nutrient source for cultivating Chlorella pyrenoidosa, a freshwater algae that can be used as a biodiesel feedstock. Pre-treatments such as acid/alkali and autoclave/microwave were tested while the acid autoclave hydrolysis method was found to […]

Enzymes found in landfills could be key for breaking down cellulosic material

August 23, 2017 | Meghan Sapp

In the UK, landfill sites should be considered one of the great untapped resources in the search for new enzymes for biotechnology, and could fuel more efficient biofuel production. A new research paper in mSphere by biologists at Bangor and Liverpool universities has for the first time identified the enzymes which degrade natural materials such […]

UC San Diego researchers create epidermal biofuel cell to power electronics from sweat

August 22, 2017 | Meghan Sapp

In California, a team of engineers has developed stretchable fuel cells that extract energy from sweat and are capable of powering electronics, such as LEDs and Bluetooth radios. The biofuel cells generate 10 times more power per surface area than any existing wearable biofuel cells. The devices could be used to power a range of […]

Sandia lab working with HelioBioSys to scale up cyanobacteria production

August 21, 2017 | Meghan Sapp

In California, a Bay Area company has patented a group of three single-celled, algae-like organisms that, when grown together, can produce high quantities of sugar just right for making biofuels. Sandia National Laboratories is helping HelioBioSys Inc. learn whether farming them on a large scale would be successful. HelioBioSys founders say they chose to grow […]

New approach for potato waste to ethanol conversion

August 20, 2017 | admin

In Pennsylvania, researchers from Penn State found a more efficient and less expensive way to convert potato waste into ethanol, which is good news for the more than 20 potato chip manufacturing companies located in the region. By adding a bioreactor of mold and yeast while breaking down potato peels and residuals from complex carbohydrates […]

Illinois to demo biofuel production from grasses collected from highway roadsides

August 17, 2017 | Meghan Sapp

In Illinois, the Illinois Department of Transportation has approved implementation of a renewable energy demonstration project using grasses collected from mowing highway rights-of-way (ROW). The work will implement the findings of a three-year study by a multi-disciplinary team including the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center at the Prairie Research Institute of the University of Illinois. The […]

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