In Canada, the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers Association has received a $600,000 grant from Agriculture Canada to do a study looking at whether ethanol production from sugarbeet makes sense for the province. In addition to biofuel, the study will also look at the commercial viability of bio-glycol production.
In New York state, scientists studying an enzyme that naturally produces alkanes—long carbon-chain molecules that could be a direct replacement for the hydrocarbons in gasoline—have figured out why the natural reaction typically stops after three to five cycles. Armed with that knowledge, they’ve devised a strategy to keep the reaction going. The biochemical details—worked out […]
In the UK, an international research team led by the University of Aberdeen is hoping to make biofuels out of microscopic algae found in the world’s oceans and seas. Currently biofuels are created from crops and land-based vegetation – something project coordinator Dr. Oliver Ebenhoeh, from the University of Aberdeen’s Institute of Complex Systems and […]
In New York, scientists have been investigating an enzyme that naturally produces alkanes and have discovered a method to lengthen the natural reaction. Said biochemist John Shanklin, “biologically produced alkanes could be extracted and used directly of fuel.” The scientists, stationed out of Brookhaven National Laboratory, are currently working on installing the enzyme into algae […]
In Washington, the Renewable Fuels Association and Cardno-ENTRIX reported that domestic ethanol production reached an estimated 13.3 billion gallons — the second highest annual production level in history amidst the nation’s worst drought in 50 years. According to the analysis, ethanol production directly employed 87,292 Americans. An additional 295,969 Americans found work in positions indirectly affiliated […]
In Georgia, researchers at the University of Georgia have discovered a connection between two different types of cell wall glycans (sugars) and a specific cell wall protein known as arabinogalactan protein. This connection is not known to exist and does not conform to the commonly held scientific definitions of plant cell wall structure. What they […]
In Vietnam, the Saigon Times reports that Hiep Thanh Seafood Processing Corporation has been successful in producing biodiesel from catfish waste such as intestines, bones and fat as part of an EU-funded project led by Finland’s Technology Research Centre (VTT). For every million metric tons of fish coming out of the Mekong Delta every year, […]
In the UAE, researchers at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology are screening mangrove root sediments in the UAE for novel enzymes to break down cellulose waste, a project which will include DNA mapping and interdisciplinary research to find microbes for refining cellulosic feedstocks.
In California, the Berkeley Lab is highlighting a trio of new technologies as licensing opportunities. Rapid Discovery and Optimization of Enzymes Solutions Using Tagged Biomass and Mass Spectrometry, a technology to create a more efficient workflow for hydrolytic enzyme discovery and enzyme cocktail optimization; Ligninolytic Enzyme Production, a technology to increase production of naturally derived […]
In Washington, the Energy Information Administration said that ethanol production averaged 770,000 barrels per day (b/d) — or 33.34 million gallons daily. That is down 22,000 b/d from the week before and is the lowest reported output since EIA began collecting data in 2010. The four-week average for ethanol production stood at 793,000 b/d for […]
