According to Lux Research, the bio-based materials and chemicals industry is poised to attract nearly $1 billion in investment this year, led notably by later-stage funding rounds. The estimated $974 million investment represents a 28% increase from 2013, suggesting companies that endured the waves of economic disruption have gained maturity and regained investors’ confidence. Lux […]
In Norway, the sea has long been a source of the country’s riches, whether from cod, farmed salmon or oil. Now one researcher from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) researcher hopes to add seaweed to this list as he refines a way to produce “biocrude” from common kelp. Using small quartz tube […]
In Washington state, researchers at Washington State University (WSU) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) decided to combine iron and palladium into a new catalyst that is expected to significantly increase the economic viability of biofuel production. They added just a pinch of palladium to iron, a recipe that efficiently removes […]
In Illinois, at the Agricultural Research Service’s Bioenergy Research Unit in Peoria, one recent research focus has been on determining how switchgrass plant maturity at harvest affects ethanol yields. Chemical engineer Bruce Dien led a study that evaluated samples of two different switchgrass varieties that were harvested at three different points in plant development and […]
In Missouri, the government of India’s Department of Biotechnology, Indian corporate leaders and Washington University in St. Louis have invested $2.5 million to launch the Indo-US Advanced Bioenergy Consortium for Second Generation Biofuels (IUABC). The IUABC is a joint bi-national center led by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay (IITB), […]
In Brazil, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), and Evogene signed a joint research agreement for the advancement of castor cultivation in Brazil. The cooperation will primarily focus on technologies for controlling castor-specific diseases as well as practices for castor cultivation in rotation with soybean. The global market for castor oil has tightened over the […]
In Texas, Missing Link Technology has been awarded patents for its deep water growth, harvesting, oils extraction, and biocrude extraction integrated suite of solutions. 1) MicGro Deep Water Reactor/Process: A engineered system of a series of one to ten foot deep water bioreactors configured in a stirred tank followed by a plug flow process flow […]
In Wisconsin, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) examined whether corn and perennial grassland fields in southern Wisconsin could provide both biomass for bioenergy production and bountiful bird habitat. The research team found that where there are grasslands, there are birds. Grass-and-wildflower-dominated fields supported more than three times […]
In Michigan, discovery of a cellular snooze button has allowed a team of Michigan State University scientists to potentially improve biofuel production and offer insight on the early stages of cancer. The discovery that the protein CHT7 is a likely repressor of cellular quiescence, or resting state, is published in the current issue of the […]
In California, NASA researchers recently took to the skies for the second year in a row with a DC-8 and other aircraft to study the effects on emissions and contrail formation of burning alternative fuels in jet engines. This follow-up set of Alternative Fuel Effects on Contrails and Cruise Emissions flight tests, known as ACCESS […]
