In Illinois, Argonne National Laboratory released a study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) that examines the potential effects of future biofuel production on freshwater resources in the Missouri River Basin—a region that could play a central role in the production of cellulosic biomass like switchgrass, a perennial energy crop. […]
In Pennsylvania, a blob of algae scooped from a fountain on South Street almost two years ago, has seeded a crop of the green stuff that Drexel University researchers claim is more effective at treating wastewater than many of the processes employed in municipal facilities today. The algae is a functional ingredient of a bioreactor […]
In California, a team led by a researcher at the University of California, Riverside has adapted the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system for use in a yeast strain that can produce useful lipids and polymers. The development will lead to new precursors for biofuels, specialty polymers, adhesives and fragrances.Published recently in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology, the […]
In Australia, chemical and biomolecular engineers from the Melbourne School of Engineering have discovered a new way to deliver carbon dioxide to microalgae, which in turn, can be harvested to make renewable fuels such as biodiesel. Carbon dioxide is well known to speed up the growth of microalgae. However, the carbon dioxide has to be free […]
In Pennsylvania, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has granted a license for two patented sorbent technologies that capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from streams of mixed gases and enable cleaner, more-efficient energy production from renewable fuels. The license was granted to renewable energy systems developer CogniTek Management Systems through the company’s MG Fuels. Sorbents are […]
In the UAE, the Sustainable Biofuel Research Consortium’s long-awaited halophyte aviation biofuel project will at last launch in March. Eight fields over two hectares will be fed with nutrient rich wastewater from fish and shrimp production that will grow native Salicornia plants. The project will run for three years and then will be scaled up […]
In Georgia, a team of researchers led by faculty at the University of Georgia have received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to find new ways of combating Johnsongrass, one of the most widespread and troublesome agricultural weeds in the world. Native to the Mediterranean region, Johnsongrass has spread across every […]
In Denmark, the BioAg Alliance, Novozymes’ and Monsanto’s collaboration to improve crop harvests through naturally-occurring microbes, recently announced results from its 2015 field trial program. Those results included a corn inoculant product, which increased yields by an average of 4 bushels per acre in U.S. field tests. The product is based on a fungus found […]
In Tennessee, a new comparative study from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory-based center finds the natural abilities of unconventional bacteria could help boost the efficiency of cellulosic biofuel production. The study is published as “Biological lignocellulose solubilization: Comparative evaluation of biocatalysts and enhancement via cotreatment” in Biotechnology for Biofuels. The analysis demonstrated that under carefully […]
In Tennessee, researchers at the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center are looking beyond the usual suspects in the search for microbes that can efficiently break down inedible plant matter for conversion to biofuels. A new comparative study from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory-based center finds the natural abilities of unconventional bacteria could help boost […]
