In New York state, biologists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have demonstrated a new way to boost the oil content of plant leaves and seeds. As described in the journal New Phytologist, the scientists identified and successfully altered key portions of a protein that protects newly synthesized oil droplets. The […]
In California, a new study finds that introducing a simple, renewable chemical to the pretreatment step can finally make next-generation biofuel production both cost-effective and carbon neutral. To overcome the lignin hurdle, researchers led by the UC Riverside invented CELF, which stands for co-solvent enhanced lignocellulosic fractionation. It is an innovative biomass pretreatment technology. A […]
In Germany, researchers asked, how can e-fuels and biosurfactants for industry be produced from exhaust gases and wastewater? An interdisciplinary consortium coordinated by Fraunhofer UMSICHT is addressing this question in the newly launched BEFuel project. The focus is on coupled bioelectrochemical production – i.e. the combination of electrochemical synthesis and biotechnological synthesis using microorganisms. Two […]
In Belgium, a study by the Center for Integrated Technology and Organic Synthesis (CiTOS) demonstrates how glycerol carbonate, a biosourced industrial additive, can be produced in record time using CO2 and a by-product of the cooking oil recycling industry. This study, conducted in collaboration with a team from the Center for Studies and Research on […]
In Nevada, earth.com reported that a study by the University of Malaga found that the use of biofuels could lead to a dramatic reduction of over 90% in black smoke emissions from vehicles. The research, which was a collaboration with the Future Power Systems Group of the University of Birmingham, represents a significant discovery in […]
In the UK, Aston University scientists are to tackle some of the challenges of how to make inedible rice straw into the next generation of biofuels. In recent years, biofuels and biobased chemicals have been blended with petrol to create a more sustainable alternative. The Aston University researchers are to examine issues that currently hinder […]
In Germany, synthetic biology offers the opportunity to build biochemical pathways for the capture and conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2). Researchers at the Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology have developed a synthetic biochemical cycle that directly converts CO2 into the central building block Acetyl-CoA. The researchers were able to implement each of the three cycle modules […]
In the UK, a new study from Plymouth Marine Laboratory investigates what happens when biodegradable plastics enter the ocean, and whether these increasingly popular alternatives to conventional plastics are safer for marine ecosystems, or whether they come with their own risks. In response to concerns about fossil-based plastics, biodegradable plastics – that is, plastics that […]
In Washington state, a study from the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory details uptake of organic matter from algae and remineralization by 15 bacterial co-cultures and subsequent incorporation of the resulting nutrients by the algae Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a diatom. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications. Although algae are an essential part of primary […]
In the UK, Aston University scientists are to tackle some of the challenges of how to make inedible rice straw into the next generation of biofuels. In recent years, biofuels and biobased chemicals have been blended with petrol to create a more sustainable alternative. The Aston University researchers are to examine issues that currently hinder […]
