In California, bioenergy researchers are looking to nature and the estimated 1.5 million species of fungi that, collectively, can break down almost any substance on earth, including plant biomass. As reported May 26, 2017 in Nature Microbiology, a team led by researchers at the University of California (UC), Santa Barbara has found for the first […]
In Minnesota, a PhD student researcher from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has won a Fulbright grant to study pennycress at the Plant Reproduction and Development laboratory at the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, France. The plant is seen as a good potential feedstock for biofuel but its nectar is also attractive to pollinators […]
In Wisconsin, by developing a new process for obtaining not one, but three high-value products from biomass in one fell swoop, University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers and their collaborators have now made that leap towards economic viability. The researchers, led by James Dumesic, professor of chemical and biological engineering, published their results May 19 in the […]
In the EU, the BElow50 partnership debuted a webinar on “how you can grow the market for the world’s must sustainable fuels.” The ground-breaking below50 platform brings together companies and organizations who commit to growing the global market for the world’s most sustainable fuels – that is fuels producing at least 50% less CO2 emissions […]
In Russia, gold nanoparticles serve as catalysts for obtaining valuable chemical products based on glycerol. Scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University and their international colleagues are developing gold catalysts to recycle one of the main byproducts of biofuel production. The obtained products are in high demand in medicine, agriculture, the cosmetics industry and other sectors. Scientists […]
In California, plant biologists and biochemists from UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco have produced a gold mine of data by sequencing the genome of a green alga called Chromochloris zofingiensis. Scientists have learned in the past decade that the tiny, single-celled organism could be used as a source of sustainable biofuel and that […]
In New Mexico, using neutron crystallography, a Los Alamos research team has mapped the three-dimensional structure of a protein that breaks down polysaccharides, such as the fibrous cellulose of grasses and woody plants, a finding that could help bring down the cost of creating biofuels. The research focused on a class of copper-dependent enzymes called […]
In the UK, the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Energy & Environmental Science recently published research by a team from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Oklahoma investigating the full life cycle impact of one promising “second-generation biofuel” produced from short-rotation oak. The study found that second-generation biofuels made from managed trees and […]
In Washington, CK Motorsports and Growth Energy released a new survey, which found 94 percent of boaters “find it easy to pick the right fuel” and are confident in their selection. Labeling is mandated under federal law, as some small equipment and marine engines should only be fueled with E10. Ninety-seven percent of the nation’s […]
In Canada, researchers at Simon Fraser University and Kwantlen Polytechnic University are recipients of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) College University Idea to Innovation grant, valued at more than $725,000. The funds will advance their project, “From Waste to Clean Food,” as they work together with industry partners. The project combines […]
