In Sweden, a research group at the Department of Chemistry has discovered a new aspect in enzymes that, in part, explains how enzymes manage their tasks with unmatched efficiency and selectivity. So-called high-energy states in enzymes are regarded as necessary for catalysing of chemical reactions. A high-energy level is a protein structure only occurring temporarily and […]
In Tennessee, turning trees, grass, and other biomass into fuel for automobiles and airplanes is a costly and complex process. Biofuel researchers are working to change that, envisioning a future where cellulosic ethanol, an alcohol derived from plant sugars, is as common and affordable at the gas station as gasoline. The key to making this […]
45 deals, 37 companies; deal size jumps 7 percent and Q2 2015 is 15% up over 2014 and 138 percent up over Q1. Here’s the complete skinny on who got what. In Florida, The Digest reports that 37 advanced bioeconomy ventures raised $1.328 billion in new capital in Q3 2014 through Q2 2015 for company […]
In North Carolina, the same process plants use to respond to environmental stress acts as an on/off switch for a key enzyme in wood formation, NC State researchers have found. The discovery improves scientists’ understanding of how lignin, which gives wood its strength and ability to transport water, is formed in plants and how it can […]
In Michigan, converting large tracts of the Midwest’s marginal farming land to perennial biofuel crops carries with it some key unknowns, including how it could affect the balance of water between rainfall, evaporation and movement of soil water to groundwater. In humid climates such as the U.S. Midwest, evaporation returns more than half of the […]
In Brussels, International Renewable Energy Agency released three reports today for Fiji, the Marshall Islands and Vanuatu, concluding that a combination of solar, wind, geothermal, marine, biomass and biofuel could meet domestic energy needs while decreasing electricity costs, increasing energy access, and boosting energy independence. Renewables Readiness Assessments offer a holistic evaluation of conditions for […]
In Wisconsin, a team of investigators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Michigan State University have created a process for making the work environment less toxic — literally — for the organisms that do the heavy lifting in the increasingly important field of bio-products derived from cellulosic biomass. When industrious bacteria like Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Zymomonas […]
In Washington, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Bioenergy Technologies Incubator 2”. BETO’s mission is to engage in research and development (R&D) and demonstration activities at increasing scale to transform renewable biomass resources into commercially […]
In Illinois, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have, for the first time, uncovered the complex interdependence and orchestration of metabolic reactions, gene regulation, and environmental cues of clostridial metabolism, providing new insights for advanced biofuel development. It typically involves complex biochemical processes implemented through the orchestration of metabolic reactions and gene regulation, […]
In Maryland, Morgan State University professor and lab director for the School of Engineering’s Industrial and Systems Engineering department, Dr. Seong W. Lee, and his research team are the recipients of a $100,000 Phase 1 award from the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) to transition his CycloBurn Combustion System™ from prototype to commercialization. The innovative new system uses a proprietary […]
