In Finland, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Aalto University investigated how willow biomass can be utilized more efficiently. When processed correctly, willow is eminently suitable as a source of sugar in the production of ethanol. The lignin fraction formed as a by-product of the ethanol process and the fibres and compounds of willow […]
In California, researchers at UCLA are manipulating the cellular metabolism of bacteria to produce isobutanol from cellulosic feedstock. Following nine years of research, the team of 25 researchers can now produce 5g of isobutanol in three days at lab level. The bacteria researched can withstand very high levels of pH, an added benefit to reducing […]
In Canada, Cellulosic Sugar Producers Cooperative, an Ontario-based farmer’s cooperative, confirms that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Comet Biorefining to collaborate on the development of a sustainable agricultural biomass supply chain in southwestern Ontario. Comet Biorefining recently announced Sarnia, Ontario as the location of its commercial-scale biomass-derived sugar facility. The plant […]
In Tennessee, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have made “a better thermoplastic” by replacing styrene with lignin, a brittle, rigid polymer that, with cellulose, forms the woody cell walls of plants. In doing so, they have invented a solvent-free production process that interconnects equal parts of nanoscale lignin dispersed in […]
In New Jersey, a researcher from Montclair State University has received a five-year $450,000 Faculty Early Career Development grant from the National Science Foundation to study place-based policy solutions for promotion of biofuels with a focus on forestry and agricultural waste based on analysis of factors such as location suitability, socioeconomic uncertainty and environmental impact. […]
In South Dakota, researchers from South Dakota State University have teamed with counterparts from the University of Florida to develop aviation biofuel from carinata seed for the Navy. The two states have complimentary growing seasons for carinata, allowing it to be grown for fuel nearly all year long. The South Dakota Oilseeds Council says that […]
In Rhode Island, a high school teacher is set to be the first to fly a certified light aircraft across the country on aviation biofuel. He will fly on a 50/50 blend of UCO-based fuel during the week-long trip with fueling stops planned in University Park Airport, in Pennsylvania; Moraine Airport, in Ohio; Walnut Ridge […]
In Illinois, under the guidance of University of Illinois scientists, a research team changed the metabolism of sugarcane to transform sugars into oils or lipids, which can then be used to produce biodiesel. The sugarcane usually contains 0.05% of oil. In less than a year of this project initiation, the researchers successfully increased the oil […]
In Illinois, zuChem has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the National Institutes of Health. The grant, led by Principal Investigator Micah Shepherd, will support development of new fermentative production methods for L-fucose and other rare sugar products of interest to the life sciences industry. L-fucose is one of […]
In Washington state, an internationally recognized group of scientists, organized by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory microbiologists Dr. Stephen Lindemann and Dr. Alexander Beliaev, has reviewed the state of the science to determine how biotechnological use of communities of multiple microbes, or microbial consortia, might transcend the limitations of single organisms. They posit that the time […]
