In Michigan, Michigan State University plant biologist Carolyn Malmstrom says that when we start combining the qualities of different types of plants into one, attempts to “domesticate” wild-growing plants to be used as energy crops, there can be unanticipated results. In contrast to domesticated annual plants like most agricultural crops, perennial plants in nature grow slower, […]
In Rhode Island, a group of researchers at Brown University has unlocked the genetic and molecular mechanisms behind how genes underlying lignin degradation are regulated. This knowledge could have practical importance in that researchers could possibly use this information to engineer bacteria that can convert lignin into the biofuels or high-value chemicals.
In Massachusetts, MIT chemical engineers and biologists have now devised a way to dramatically boost isobutanol production in yeast, which naturally make it in small amounts. They engineered yeast so that isobutanol synthesis takes place entirely within mitochondria, cell structures that generate energy and also host many biosynthetic pathways. Using this approach, they were able […]
In Kansas, University of Kansas has tested a hydtrothermal liquefaction integrated wastewater algea-to-biocrude process for cultivating algal biomass. The study influenced liquefaction product distribution to yield a higher proportion of biochar, a valuable co-product. “HTL uses subcritical water as the chemical driving force to convert biomass to a carbon-rich biocrude. Using microalgal feedstocks, biocrude yields […]
In Washington, the Natural Resources Defense Council reports that in a national poll, 65 percent of Americans think that climate change is a serious problem and a substantial majority support President’s Obama using his authority to reduce its main cause, dangerous carbon pollution. The poll found that 60 percent of Americans support the president using […]
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 […]
