In Indiana, an article regarding the Midwest’s capability for producing grain sorghum was published in the journal Biofuels, Bioproducts, & Biorefining by researchers from Purdue, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Illinois. The article argued that sorghum is more attractive to midwestern farmers for a number of reasons: the infrastructure and grain elevators […]
In Washington, writing in The Scientist, Carnegie Institution of Washington’s Wolf Frommer and Tom Brutnell of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center said that a 10-year, $100 billion investment in food and energy science is required, in order to address the planet’s long term fuel and food needs. The authors note a 2012 FAO estimate […]
In New York, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory show that ramping up the microbes’ overall metabolism by feeding them more carbon increases oil production as the organisms continue to grow. More on the story.
In Washington, a new study by the RAND Corporation says that the US military’s petroleum demand of 340,000 barrels per day, compared to global demand of 87 million barrels per day, isn’t large enough of a scale to impact the production cost of biofuels so should therefore stop spending money on more expensive alternative fuels. […]
In India and Israel, Rasi Seeds and Evogene announced a collaboration, focused on increasing yield and drought tolerance in rice. Pursuant to the collaboration agreement, candidate genes discovered by Evogene for these key traits will be introduced into Rasi Seeds pipeline for the development of improved hybrid rice. Financial terms of the agreement were not […]
In Ohio, OSU’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) has received a $5.7 million grant from the DOE’s ARPA-E for a project that will boost the biodiesel capacity of guayule and sweet sorghum. The two feedstocks naturally produce farnesene, an oil which is easily converted to fuel; Chicago-based Chromatin Inc will be leading the […]
In the UK, ActionAid is urging UK leaders to downsize the EU biofuels targets, issuing a report that projected that implementing the 10% EU biofuels target would cause global corn prices to rise by 22 percent, sugar by 21 percent, and vegetable oil prices up by 36 percent. The group is urging G20 action at […]
In Washington state, Jud Virden, a 20-year laboratory veteran with experience creating energy research partnerships with U.S. industry, has been named associate laboratory director for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Energy and Environment Directorate. More on the story.
In California, the California Energy Commission approved funding of $23,110,015 for projects that will advance the development of green fuels, and the installation of fueling stations. The awards are provided through the Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, created by Assembly Bill 118. The program provides approximately $100 million annually to […]
In Ohio, the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and Bluegrass Biodiesel have partnered to test three methods to extract oil from cooking grease, including one the University is planning to patent. Longer term plans include using the oil to produce biodiesel to power equipment and vehicles. Thanks to an $87,000 grant from […]
