In California, UCLA chemical engineering researchers have created a new synthetic metabolic pathway for breaking down glucose that could lead to a 50 percent increase in the production of biofuels. The new pathway is intended to replace the natural metabolic pathway known as glycolysis, a series of chemical reactions that nearly all organisms use to convert […]
In the Energy Journal, an MIT economist has published a report saying that ethanol may not lower the price at the pump. The ‘crack ratio,’ the relative value of gasoline compared to oil, has declined recently, and many have attributed the decline to ethanol. However, the analysts argue that changing oil prices is what really […]
In Minnesota, University of Minnesota scientists examine three U.S. federal agencies’ visions of how the nation could meet the targets. By comparing and contrasting the DOE’s, EPA’s and USDA’s scenarios, university scientists aim to inform the discussion on this important policy issue. What Minnesota’s role will be in reaching the biofuels standard is one of […]
In Texas, Pipeline Research Council International, a consortium of pipeline companies, and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration funded intense research to find the cause of cracking of steel in ethanol from 2005 through 2012. The fundamental mechanism of how oxygen causes cracking of steel is described in a paper […]
In Illinois, scientists report in Nature Communications that they have engineered yeast to consume acetic acid, a previously unwanted byproduct of the process of converting plant leaves, stems and other tissues into biofuels. The innovation increases ethanol yield from lignocellulosic sources by about 10 percent.
In California, Edeniq announced that the company has received notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, protecting three targeted process applications. The new patent, entitled “Materials and Methods for Converting Biomass to Biofuel,” was approved on September 4, 2013. The patent covers certain core equipment and process technology used in Edeniq’s […]
In California, a synthetic metabolic pathway for breaking down glucose could lead to a 50% increase in the production of biofuels, according to research performed at the University of California, Los Angeles. The process converts all six glucose carbon atoms into three acetyl-CoA molecules, without losing two of those atoms as carbon dioxide. The pathway […]
In Germany, researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the Institute for Internal Combustion Engines of the Technical University of Braunschweig, the Steinbeis-Transfer Center for Biofuels and Environmental Measuring, Coburg, and the Technology Center Automotive of the University of Applied Sciences in Coburg have changed biodiesel molecules through metathesis with the aim of changing how the […]
In Vermont, the USDA has awarded the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association a $51,000 grant to study growing algae for biodiesel on a dairy farm in the state. Waste streams from the Fiddlehead Brewery will be added to the phosphorous and nitrogen produced from the dairy’s existing anaerobic digester to provide the new home for algae.
In Illinois, researchers at Argonne National Laboratory found that only 2.4 liters of blue water—water for processing or irrigation—is consumed per liter of wood waste-based ethanol. Its gray water usage is also low, at only 25 liters, but its green water (rainfall, fresh water) usage is high at up to 443 liters. Water footprints for […]
