In Canada, University of Saskatchewan researchers have found a new and cheaper way to separate water from ethanol which could decrease costs for producing biofuel. With traditional distillation methods, some water remains, but researchers solved this problem by using non-toxic modified starch-based materials, like corn and potatoes, that act like selective sponges and don’t require […]
In Ohio, researchers at the University of Dayton Research Institute are addressing algae’s vulnerability to fluctuations in weather and temperature, limiting commercial growers and researchers in their selection of growing systems and locations. “Our goal was to design and build an economical and efficient system that could be transported anywhere, easily assembled and operate in […]
In Canada, new research from a professor of engineering at UBC’s Okanagan Campus might hold the key to biofuels that are cheaper, safer and much faster to produce. Starting with materials commonly found in agricultural or forestry waste — including wheat straw, corn husks and Douglas fir bark–she compared traditional fermentation processes with their new technique […]
In India, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology have created a catalyst for biofuel production from algae using sand from Rajasthan, nickel and cobalt that cuts the price of production to half of that of fossil fuel. Many catalysts use expensive rare materials such as Rhodium that push up the price of production. The […]
In the UK, Celtic Renewables Ltd set the wheels in motion of the first car to be fueled by a whisky residue biofuel. Biobutanol is produced from draff – the sugar-rich kernels of barley which are soaked in water to facilitate the fermentation process necessary for whisky production – and pot ale, the copper-containing yeasty liquid […]
In Illinois, the food versus fuel debate gets a new research study supporting the food side. Researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign completed their three year study to assign a dollar amount to each step in corn production for both food and biofuel measuring its value economically and environmentally. The study focused specifically on corn […]
In New Jersey, biofuels like the ethanol in U.S. gasoline could get cheaper thanks to experts at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Michigan State University. They’ve demonstrated how to design and genetically engineer enzyme surfaces so they bind less to corn stalks and other cellulosic biomass, reducing enzyme costs in biofuels production, according to a study […]
In Tennessee, scientists using neutron scattering have identified the specifics of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction that could significantly reduce the total amount of enzymes used, improving production processes and lowering costs. Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and North Carolina State University used a combination of X-ray and neutron crystallography to determine […]
In Germany, using a novel catalyst concept, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now managed to significantly reduce the temperature and energy requirements of a key step in the chemical process. The trick: The reaction takes place in very confined spaces inside zeolite crystals. In the laboratory, the scientists demonstrated that the temperature […]
In Arizona, researchers at Arizona State University wanted to squeeze out more energy from xylose sugars. To do so, they challenged E. coli bacteria that could thrive comfortably on glucose — and switch out the growth medium broth to grow solely on xylose. The bacteria would be forced to adapt to the new food supply […]
