In Massachusetts, LiveScience.com is reporting that scientists have discovered an anaerobic gut fungus, in horses’ waste and digestive tracts, that make enzymes to digest lignin — a protective barrier inside plant cell walls that is hard to separate from cellulose. “It thrives on lignin-rich plants and converts these materials into sugars for the animal. It […]
In New Jersey, Princeton researcher Christodoulos A. Floudas, Xin Xiao and colleagues explain that duckweed, an aquatic plant that floats on or near the surface of still or slow-moving freshwater, is ideal as a raw material for biofuel production. It grows fast, thrives in wastewater that has no other use, does not impact the food […]
In Spain, researchers at the Canary Islands Technological Institute are using banana waste to produce a gas that is later converted into second-generation biofuel. Though the project is at an early stage, the researchers see a major opportunity to help reduce waste from the region’s banana industry while providing power to the islands.
In Wisconsin, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a method of using oxygen to convert lignin into renewable chemicals. Previous methods have used oxidation but the new method very selectively oxidises the lignin under very mild pressure and temperature with a catalyst that is specific for a single structure on the lignin molecule.
The Pew Charitable Trusts has published its clean energy investment report, published annually using data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The report notes that clean energy investment decreased 11% from 2011, plateauing at $269B. The report also notes that the biofuels sector experiencing a drop of 47% in investment from 2011 to 2012, with global […]
In Missouri, Monsanto announced plans to bring together its St. Louis-based industry-leading research and development team on one campus when it completes a more than $400 million expansion at its Chesterfield Village Research Center. The company plans to begin work this summer and expects to add 675 jobs across St. Louis County over the next […]
In Washington, after a briefing by senior White House staff on April 17, following their arrival in the U.S., an Israeli delegation of top academic and industrial biofuels research scientists and innovators, and Israeli government program managers, is participating in two days of deliberations with their American counterparts from the U.S. DOE and USDA, and […]
In the UK, a team from the University of Exeter, with support from Shell, has developed a method to make bacteria produce diesel on demand. While the technology still faces many significant commercialisation challenges, the diesel, produced by special strains of E. coli bacteria, is almost identical to conventional diesel fuel and so does not […]
In Washington state, new University of Washington research shows that in low doses, hydrogen sulfide could greatly enhance plant growth, leading to a sharp increase in global food supplies and plentiful stock for biofuel production. The most significant near-term promise is in growing algae and other stock for biofuels. Plant lipids are the key to […]
