In the UK, researchers at Glyndwr University are experimenting with high-yielding, high-sugar perennial ryegrass as a feedstock for ethanol as well as using the grass’s fiber in pharmaceutical applications. The grass is well suited to many environments in the UK, including degraded or marginal lands, and can produce as much as 15 metric tons dry […]
In California, top researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have formed the UC Berkeley Synthetic Biology Institute to advance efforts to engineer cells and biological systems in ways that promise to transform technology in health and medicine, energy, the environment, new materials, and a host of other critical arenas. The institute is launching collaborative […]
Pat Grant of Tatko writes, “Our preliminary tests on algae have yielded positive results in increasing lipid count and eliminating unwanted pathogens. The product’s unique strain of Azospirillum is a naturally occurring, non-genetically modified product capable of significantly increasing productivity, by stimulating the fixation of molecular nitrogen. “We are seeking a partner to move forward with […]
In California, researchers at Stanford University say that planting sugarcane in Brazil in areas where other crops were previously planted cools the climate by reflecting sunlight back into space and by lowering the temperature of the surrounding air as the plants “exhale” cooler water. The research was recently published in the journal Nature. The study […]
In Maryland, Robert Kozak, president of Atlantic Biomass Conversions, wrote in Advanced Biofuels USA that using biofuels production processes to create animal feed as co-products can earn the producer more on a pound-for-pound basis than corn ethanol, and that by retaining plant amino acids, the income from the feedstock used for high protein animal feed […]
In Washington, Geoff Cooper, VP of Research and Analysis for the Renewable Fuels Association, published analysis of the February 2011 ethanol export reports, noting that sharp increases are continuing for ethanol exports, even though exported ethanol generally is not blended with gasoline prior to exportation, and does not qualify for the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax […]
In Washington State, PNNL researchers Mark Wigmosta, a PNNL hydrologist, and his co-authors have published a study that being smart about where we grow algae can drastically reduce how much water is needed for algal biofuel. Growing algae for biofuel, while being water-wise, could also help meet congressionally mandated renewable fuel targets by replacing 17% […]
In the UK, a new report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics recommends temporarily removing the legal requirements for biofuel use in Europe until safeguards have been put in place to prevent their use causing environmental and social problems both at home and abroad but points out the benefits of next generation biofuels and the […]
In Georgia, the USDA announced funding for projects during the 16th 1890 Biennial Research Symposium in Atlanta. The project will focus on crop protection for sustainable feedstock production systems, enhanced value co-product development, and carbon sequestration and sustainable bioenergy production. Projects were funded in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, […]
In Canada, researchers funded by Genome BC, Natural Resource Canada’s Genomics Research and Development Initiative and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation are working to identify genes that control how rust fungi infect plants and hosts, and which genes in the host can help fight rusts. These efforts will help end-users in the agriculture […]
