In Japan, Toyota has developed a technology to analyze sugarcane DNA that will shorten the time required to improve varieties for ethanol production to about four years, half of the time it takes now. The technology was jointly developed with the National Agricultural Research Center for Kyushu Okinawa Region. More on the story.
In China, South Korea’s Chosun University has signed a deal to introduce its photobioreactor technology for algae biofuels production to the Shandong Provincial Academy of Sciences. The cooperation could lead to 1000 square meters of algae production within the next two years. The photobioreactor technology from Chosun University would be used to stimulate growth of […]
In Washington, NASA announced that they have discovered a new microbe in California’s Mono Lake, that can use arsenic as a fundamental building block in its DNA. While it has been known that microbes can survive in high arsenic environments, this is the first known case of a microbe that uses arsenic to replace phosphorus […]
In Tennessee, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have discovered that by using a high-intensity dose of ultrasonic energy, they can remove or prevent the formation of precipitates, or solids, in biofuels. “Biodiesel forms invisible precipitates at temperatures approaching 41 degrees Fahrenheit,” researcher Mike Kass said. “These precipitates cause plugging of filters and lines and […]
In Montana, researchers have published a report in Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, concluding that camelina-based biojet fuel reduces CO2 emissions by 75 percent compared to traditional petroleum-based jet fuel. The research, in collaboration with UOP, a Honeywell company, was conducted at Michigan Tech University, a leading research university. The study was based on camelina […]
In the United Kingdom, researchers at the University of Warwick’s Department of Life Sciences have uncovered the genetic basis of remarkable broad-spectrum resistance to a viral infection, Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV), that, in some parts of the world, is the most important pathogen affecting leafy and arable brassica crops including: brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, […]
In Pennsylvania, the Clearfield County Commissioners voted to terminate its cooperation agreement with SWAN Biomass Inc. at its meeting last week in order to proceed with the transfer of grant funding to a cellulosic biomass ethanol research project in Curwensville. The project didn’t pan out for SWAN Biomass Inc., an Illinois-based company, so the county […]
In California, a survey of growers conducted by Ceres found that 71% of respondents were very interested or interested in growing dedicated energy crops. Moreover, 77% said they had under-utilized land on which to establish energy grasses like switchgrass, sorghum and miscanthus. The poll, which was weighted to the Southeast United States found that “growers […]
In New Mexico, the US Air Force has granted New Mexico State University $2.364 million towards algal research to study better ways to grow algae and refine its oil while working with the University of Central Florida to determine the effects of algae-based fuel on jet engines. Project researchers say they must increase the biomass […]
In Indiana, researchers at Purdue University have discovered the last of 10 genes that are required to manipulate the animo acid phenylalanine which could reduce the amount of lignin in biofuel feedstocks, and therefore produce cellulosic ethanol easier. Scent in flowers can also be increased as well as nutritional value in food crops. More on […]
