In Washington, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell today announced the award of nearly $2.5 million in grants to 10 small businesses and community groups for wood-to-energy projects that will help expand regional economies and create new jobs. The projects will use woody material removed from forests during projects such as wildfire prevention and beetle-killed […]
In Texas, researchers at Texas A&M have developed a new medium for the cultivation of beneficial microorganisms called lactobacilli. A better understanding of lactobacilli metabolism can help improve feed efficiency in animals and combat malnutrition in humans, according to the researchers. Other lactobacilli are used to manufacture fermented food products and to drive the bioconversion of […]
In Norway, researchers at the University of Bergen and Uni Research are exploring tunicates (ciona intestinalis), a common marine species that consumes microorganisms and can be converted into much-needed feed for salmon or a combustible biofuel for filling petrol tanks. And it can be cultivated in vast amounts: 200 kg per square meter of ocean […]
In Wisconsin, a researcher from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has discovered that the enzyme found in a fungus used by the South American leafcutter ant to digest leaves for it could be the next key to efficient second generation biofuels production. It’s the ants themselves who cultivate the fungus, and a team of researchers brought […]
In New Mexico, the Los Alamos National Laboratory has published a paper on the binding of enzymes to cellulose polymers, and how oftentimes, increased binding does not lead to faster breakdown into simple sugars. The team, led by Shishir Chundawat of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, has been using biomass pretreatments to convert cellulose […]
In Wisconsin, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are researching an enzyme produced by leafcutter ants. The team has been able to isolate and identify the enzyme used by these critters to break down leaves and plant matter. The research, which could have tremendous implications for cellulosic producers, has encouraged several private companies to approach […]
In Spain, Spanish researchers coordinated by the Spanish National Research Council have to sequence the genome of the global deep ocean. They are using more than 2,000 samples of microorganisms collected in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans during the Malaspina Expedition. Jesús María Arrieta, CSIC researcher at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, explains: […]
In Missouri, the National Corn Growers Associaitonhas added a video and an interactive educational module to its online learning tools concerning water quality management. The video, titled “Driving Change,” showcases NCGA members describing the practices they are implementing to enhance water quality on their farms and in their area. The 30-minute NCGA Water Issues Learning […]
In Massachusetts, researchers at MIT have developed a new technique to make cost-effective renewable gamma-valerolactone (GVL). The molecule has more energy density than ethanol and can be used as a fuel both in drop-in form and as an additive for other fuels. The MIT team also said that renewable GVL can be used as a […]
In California, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory highlighted five technologies now available for license. They include: Improving Saccharification Efficiency by Inhibiting a Xylosyltransferase, a technology that increases soluble sugar extraction notably compared to wild type plants, offering a pathway to more efficient saccharification in bioenergy plants. Strengthening Bioenergy Feedstock Plants by Overexpression of Three Rice […]
