In Missouri, engineers at Washington University have found a new way to boost biofuel production in E. coli bacteria by altering its protein structure. Fuzhong Zhang, assistant professor in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, along with researchers in his lab, reported in the journal Metabolic Engineering that they have discovered a new method […]
In California, a US Navy research team at China Lake led by Ben Harvey reported that 2,3-Butanediol, which has received a significant amount of interest based on the ability to generate it at much higher titer than n-butanol owing tothe relatively low toxicity of 2,3-BD to the producing organism, “can be converted to butenes over bifunctional […]
In France, in order to prevent the air-fuel mixture in the gasoline engine from self-igniting prematurely, additives are included with the fuel to increase the knock resistance. In a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) the French-German company Global Bioenergies now aims to produce two such additives, isooctane and […]
In Missouri, a team from the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a way to make the production of certain biofuels in E. coli much more efficient. Fuzhong Zhang, assistant professor in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, along with researchers in his lab, have discovered […]
In the UK, the Valor Plus project is providing new knowledge, new biotechnologies and new products that support the release, refinement and transformation of lignocellulosic biomass, lipids and low-volume functional chemicals to produce multiple bulk and high-value product streams. With funding from the EU FP7 program, the Valor Plus project consists of a strong consortium of […]
In Florida, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers have found that sweet potato vines, usually thrown out during harvest, can serve well as livestock feed while the roots are an ideal source for biofuel. This could be a key finding for the agriculture industry in Florida and to biofuel needs worldwide. According […]
In Washington, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge, Argonne, and National Renewable Energy Laboratories released their “Summary of High Octane, Mid-Level Ethanol Blends Study.” This scientific analysis showed the numerous benefits of using high octane mid-level ethanol blends in future optimized engines. Some of these benefits include: increased vehicle efficiency, increased acceleration, and significant reductions […]
In Massachusetts, researchers at MIT and the Cambridge startup Novogy describe a new technique that gives producer microbes the upper hand against unwanted invaders, eliminating the need for such expensive and potentially harmful sterilization methods. The researchers engineered microbes, such as Escherichia coli, with the ability to extract nitrogen and phosphorous—two vital nutrients needed for […]
In Indonesia, a biology student at the University of Surabaya has determined that bacteria found in the Mount Ijens crater can be used to produce ethanol from wheat straw thanks to its high acidity level of zero. Though more research needs to be done on bacteria and other microorganisms that survive in the highly acidic […]
In Mexico, researchers at the Autonomous University of Coahuila is using algae for wastewater treatment and then producing biodiesel from the algae harvested after the water cleaning process. Researchers are working to develop a system that takes advantage of the best of both worlds provided by open systems that are cheaper and closed systems that […]
