In Michigan, researchers at the University of Michigan discovered that fungus and E. coli bacteria have joined forces to turn tough, waste plant material into isobutanol, a biofuel that matches gasoline’s properties better than ethanol. While much previous research has focused on trying to create a “superbug” that could tackle the whole job of processing […]
In the UK, an enzyme named caffeoyl shikimate esterase (CSE) may hold the key to reducing lignin in stem material for biofuel conversion. The study, a collaboration between Dundee University, the James Hutton Institute, VIB research institute, Ghent University, and the University of Wisconsin, resulted in a 36% drop in the amount of lignin per […]
In the Netherlands, CatchBio—a collaboration of 21 partners, including Dutch universities, research institutes and industries operating in the field of catalysis research—have released a video showing the chemocatalysis research they are developing to turn waste into biofuels. They claim they have developed a cheap and effective way to use catalysts for waste-to-biofuel production.
In Botswana, the Japan International Cooperation Agency has donated $233,200 in equipment for a five-year research study looking to produced jatropha-based biodiesel in the country. The donation include a portable Photosynthesis and Fluorescence System, a Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis machine (DGGE), and Weather Station. The country is experimenting with jatropha despite the fact that its […]
In New Mexico, New Mexico State University has received a $5 million grant from the DOE to boost its algae-based drop-in fuel technologies, including boosting yields and improving oil content. NMSU is collaborating with Los Alamos, Argonne and Pacific Northwest national laboratories, Washington State and Michigan State universities and four companies on the project.
In Spain, the EU-funded All-Gas research project has harvested its first crop of algae biomass grown using wastewater. The biomass will then be digested and turned into biogas for use in vehicles. Methane production from the algae is expected to produce 200-300 liters of gas per kilogram of biomass processed. If the country’s entire wastewater […]
In New Hampshire, a Dartmouth-led team has discovered a group of stress-related proteins that explains how plants avoid sunburn in intense light, a finding that one day could help biotechnologists to develop crops that can better cope with hotter, drier conditions occurring in climate change. In this study, Professor Hou-Sung Jung and his colleagues showed […]
In Colorado, the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is working with Ecopetrol, the largest oil company in Colombia, to process the residue from sugar cane and palm oil harvesting into fuel ethanol for blending with gasoline. The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between NREL and Ecopetrol aims to optimize the conversion process […]
In California, UCLA MAE Ph.D. student Wei Yu raised $1.6 million series A venture capital for Lyxia Corporation, a biofuel startup based on research from UCLA MAE Professor Chih-Ming Ho’s Micro System Laboratories. Preceeding this, in July 2012, Lyxia Corporation was founded by Wei, and acquired exclusive rights to use new UCLA technology that increases […]
In Minnesota, researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered that DDGS don’t have the antibiotic content originally assumed because they are either deactivated or reduced to extremely low levels during the production process. Presence of antibiotics in DDGS has been a major concern by livestock producers who use the ethanol byproduct as animal feed.
