Category: Research

French Soufflet Group secures $145 million for agro-industrial, biofuels research facility

October 8, 2012 | Meghan Sapp

In France, a technological research facility and laboratory was opened by The Soufflet Group. It will be dedicated to researching ways to increase the value of agricultural resources and agro-industrial byproducts through sustainable farming. In partnership with the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (OSIRIS), technological institutes and universities, the Soufflet Group has secured $145.3 […]

FAPRI publishes study saying RFS will not signficantly reduce corn prices

October 8, 2012 | Isabel Lane

In Iowa, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute has published a new study indicating that a full waiver of the RFS requirements will only reduce corn prices by 0.5%. The study also concluded that “overall ethanol use and production are projected to be motivated mostly by crop and fuel market conditions in the current […]

Electrofuels advances reported at U of Wisconsin

October 4, 2012 | Jim Lane

In Wisconsin, a team of researchers led by George Huber — who recently moved from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst to the Wisconsin Energy Institute — a UW-Madison professor of chemical and biological engineering, and his collaborators have demonstrated they can use a proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell to convert the model biomass compound acetone into isopropanol, a […]

NSF awards nearly $1 million to University of New Hampshire ethanol fuel cell research

October 3, 2012 | Meghan Sapp

In New Hampshire, the National Science Foundation has awarded nearly $1 million in grants to University of New Hampshire assistant professor of chemical engineering, Xiaowei Teng. The grants are to support his research on increasing ethanol oxidation fuel cell reaction efficiency. Professor Teng and his team seek to promote ethanol as a viable energy source […]

Colorado State University secures $18.5 million for energy lab expansion

October 2, 2012 | Meghan Sapp

In Colorado, the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory at Colorado State University has secured $18.5 million in private donations to build an expansion. Major donors include the Bohemian Foundation and Woodward Inc. The lab conducts research in several areas, including electric grid improvements, biofuel production and improved cook stoves for developing countries. Former Governor Bill […]

Swiss report cautions not all biofuels created equal

October 1, 2012 | Meghan Sapp

In Switzerland, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), in conjunction with the Institute Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon (ART), and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), updated its 2007 biofuels report in a new study entitled, Harmonisation and extension of the bioenergy inventories and assessment. The study found that biofuels can be sustainable and may […]

Purdue receives $5.2 to develop phenyl ethanol plant

October 1, 2012 | Isabel Lane

In Indiana, Purdue has received a $5.2m grant from the Department of Energy to develop a plant which produces phenyl ethanol instead of lignin, making it possible to convert the plant directly into combustible biofuel. Heading the research team is Clint Chapple, a biochemistry professor at the University. The project aims to be completed within […]

Six students win Young Algae Researcher Awards

September 28, 2012 | Jim Lane

In Colorado, Six student scientists were presented with the first Young Algae Researcher Awards, in Denver, for their contributions to fields of algae biology and engineering. The awards are presented at the world’s largest gathering of algae industry and academic leaders to recognize outstanding research projects by early-career scientists that are finding new ways to use […]

International project aims to develop water

September 26, 2012 | Meghan Sapp

In the UK, a $13.76 million (£8.6million) project funded by the US Department of Energy, and managed by the Institute of Integrative Biology, is exploring drought-tolerant desert plant photosynthetic mechanisms for integration into poplar trees. The desert plant crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) is a highly water-use efficient form of photosynthesis found in agaves, cacti and […]

Biodico and LamdaGen form R&D partnership

September 25, 2012 | Meghan Sapp

In California, a collaboration between Biodico, Inc. and LamdaGen Corporation has been announced to integrate LamdaGen’s nano-based Meta-Catalytic Surface (MCS) technology into Biodico’s R&D programs for biomass-based diesel, combined heat and power, and biochemicals. Other LamdaGen technologies will also be incorporated into Biodico’s ongoing R&D programs under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with […]

Free Subscription

The Biofuels Digest newsletter

The most widely-read biofuels daily — 20,000+ organizations subscribe — why not you too?