Category: Research

DOE grants $20.2M for mixed algae research projects for biofuels and bioproducts

November 21, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In Washington, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) recently announced $20.2 million in funding for 10 university and industry projects to advance mixed algae development for low-carbon biofuels and bioproducts. Located in seven states, these selected projects will address high-impact research and development (R&D) focused on converting […]

University of Liverpool and the University of Georgia team on developing sustainable bioplastics

November 20, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In the UK, a collaboration between researchers from the University of Liverpool and the University of Georgia (UGA) aims to develop sustainable bioplastics. Supported by the UKRI Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the ‘Sustainable Bioplastics Prepared by Ultrasonic Treatment with Low CO2 Footprint’ project looks to revolutionise […]

University of Utah and Sandia National Laboratories agree strategic partnership

November 19, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In Utah, the University of Utah and Sandia National Laboratories have agreed to a strategic partnership that will look to help develop collaborations in various technical areas, as well as give U researchers and students opportunities to develop new skills and research paths via working on projects in Sandia facilities. According to the memorandum of […]

Researchers use electrocatalysis of carbon dioxide to create electro-biodiesel

November 18, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In North Carolina, trees are the most abundant natural resource living on Earth’s land masses, and North Carolina State University scientists and engineers are making headway in finding ways to use them as sustainable, environmentally benign alternatives to producing industrial chemicals from petroleum. Lignin, a polymer that makes trees rigid and resistant to degradation, has […]

Researchers find new chemical process to make biodiesel production easier

November 17, 2024 | Juan Pedro Tomas

In California, UC Santa Cruz reported that UC Santa Cruz chemists have discovered a new way to produce biodiesel from waste oil that both simplifies the process and requires relatively mild heat. In their study, published on October 3 in the American Chemical Society journal Energy & Fuels, lead author Kevin Lofgren details a new […]

Missouri researchers lead work on electrocatalysis of CO2 to produce hyper efficient electro-biodiesel

November 14, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In Missouri, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Missouri, and their collaborators at Texas A&M University have used electrocatalysis of carbon dioxide to create an electro-biodiesel that is 45 times more efficient and uses 45 times less land than soybean-based biodiesel production. Results of their work are published online in Joule […]

Study show’s Brazilian second-crop corn ethanol production system in line with SDGs

November 13, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In Brazil, a study recently published in the renowned journal Nature has revealed the benefits of Brazil’s second-crop corn ethanol production system, highlighting its harmony with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The research aimed to evaluate in a very careful way the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of the energy and food production system that is […]

Berkeley Lab researchers transform bacterium to optimize crops and fungi conversion into biofuels

November 12, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In California, the ability to genetically engineer plants is largely thanks to a microscopic helper: a bacterium called Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Agrobacterium in the wild causes damaging tumors in flowering plants, including some economically important crops, but its ability to insert its own DNA into host plants is what makes it both a pest to farmers […]

Japanese researchers develop method to detect hydrogen with high sensitivity

November 10, 2024 | Juan Pedro Tomas

In Japan, Chiba University reported that researchers developed a new method for accurately detecting hydrogen with high sensitivity using tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy “Hydrogen, a promising fuel, has extensive applications in many sectors. However, its safe and widespread use necessitates reliable sensing methods. While tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) has proved to be […]

Graz University of Technology explores feasibility of CO2 caputre on deck

November 7, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In Austria, researchers at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and the COMET K1 Centre LEC (Large Engines Competence Center) have evaluated the feasibility of current CO2 capture technologies for different types of ships in the “CCS on Ships” research project. For its investigation, the team used the LEC ENERsim software developed at the LEC, […]

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