Category: Research

South Korean researchers use tara gum as potential plastics replacement

January 25, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In South Korea, synthetic, non-biodegradable plastics are major sources of environmental pollution and have prompted a rising interest in sustainable, biodegradable alternatives derived from natural polymers. “Tara gum,” derived from the seeds of the tara tree (Caesalpinia spinosa), stands out as a promising solution. This natural, water-soluble substance contains polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates), including the widely used […]

Brookhaven and Columbia University researchers convert CO2 into carbon nanofibers

January 24, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In New York state, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Columbia University have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide (CO2), a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon nanofibers, materials with a wide range of unique properties and many potential long-term uses. Their strategy uses tandem electrochemical and thermochemical reactions […]

Neste and VTT researchers explore e-Fuels demonstrating high temperature electrolysis

January 23, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In Finland, renewable hydrogen produced by green electricity and carbon capture and utilization (CCU) play an important role in combating climate change. Low-emission e-fuels produced using these technologies are particularly suitable for segments that are difficult to electrify, such as aviation and marine. The joint E-Fuel research project demonstrating high temperature electrolysis (SOEC), carbon capture, […]

Wageningen researchers upcycle synthetic waste materials with bio-based compounds

January 22, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In the Netherlands, although efforts to improve the collection and recycling of plastics to achieve a circular economy are increasing significantly, some (synthetic) materials will eventually always end up in the environment due to e.g. littering, weathering and abrasion. In the project ULTRADREAM (funded by TKI-AF), which started in the summer of 2023, Wageningen Food […]

Pacific Biodiesel gets federal funding to develop model for Hawaii agriculture-based biofuel

January 20, 2024 | Juan Pedro Tomas

In Hawaii, Pacific Biodiesel Technologies announced the company has expanded its operations to Kauai as part of a multi-year agreement signed last year with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) to demonstrate a renewable biofuel produced in Hawaii from multiple locally grown oilseed […]

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute researchers simulate alternative fuel options for rail

January 18, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In Virginia, researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) recently created a nationwide multi-train simulation software, called NeTrainSim, to provide a clearer picture of this very situation. The open-sourced model ran multiple simulations of the country’s network of freight trains powered by alternative fuel sources, such as electricity, biodiesel, hydrogen, and hybrids. The results […]

University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers make strides for dual-cheimcal production from biomass

January 17, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have engineered bacteria that can produce two chemical products at the same time from underutilized plant fiber. And unlike humans, these multitasking microbes can do both things equally well. The discovery, detailed in a paper in the December issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, could help make […]

Brazilian researchers obtain hydrogen from vine shoots

January 16, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In Brazil, a research team from the universities of Jaén and São Paulo has confirmed that hydrogen can be obtained from vine shoots through a process that does not require fossil fuels and does not emit pollutants. With their work, they manage to give new value to this waste from the wine industry, while creating […]

Georgia Tech researcher engineer yeast strain that prefers the lights on

January 15, 2024 | Meghan Sapp

In Georgia, a new study published in Current Biology, researchers in Georgia Tech’s School of Biological Sciences have engineered one of the world’s first strains of yeast that may be happier with the lights on. Easily equipping the yeast with such an evolutionarily important trait could mean big things for our understanding of how this […]

CAER researchers awarded US’s DOE grant to develop biofuel technology

January 12, 2024 | Juan Pedro Tomas

In Kentucky, researchers at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) and the Department of Chemistry confirmed they have received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to advance their innovative biofuels research. The project is titled “Robust Engineered Catalysts for the Conversion of Waste Oleaginous Biomass Feedstocks […]

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