In Illinois, nearly two centuries of maize-based agriculture in the U.S. Midwest has halved soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks compared with tallgrass prairies native to the region. Replacing annual maize/soy cropping with perennial bioenergy grasses may partially reverse these resulting SOC deficits. A recent Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) study explored the […]
In Illinois, lignocellulolytic enzymes are a primary cost constraint in second-generation ethanol biorefineries, accounting for up to 30% of operating expenses. Because it requires limited inputs and can achieve industrially viable ethanol titers and yields with an inexpensive nitrogen source, the hydrothermal pretreatment approach is a leading biorefinery technique. However, enzyme loadings reported in the […]
In Illinois, a team of researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) created a fast, user-friendly process to improve industrial enzymes. The researchers combined artificial intelligence (AI), synthetic biology, and a biofoundry. This combination allowed the scientists to overcome common issues with enzymes such as low efficiency and an enzyme’s inability […]
In Illinois, plants grown for biofuel have the potential to power our travel industry, but an important fraction of their chemical power has remained stubbornly difficult to recover. New research from the DOE-funded Center for Advanced Biofuel and Bioproduct Innovation on the University of Illinois campus has demonstrated a way to preserve native lignin structure, […]
In Florida, a study by University of Florida researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), found four different plant heat shock protein (HSP) promoters were characterized in the vegetative tissues of stably transformed sugarcane to evaluate their efficacy and spatial expression profiles when directing the expression of a uidA reporter gene. […]
In Illinois, while annual cropping systems such as maize/soy rotation perpetuate soil organic carbon (SOC) loss, perennial crops have been found to contribute to SOC increases. However, most perennial crop studies have been short-term, resulting in incomplete understanding of their long-term impacts on SOC. A study, published in the journal GCB Bioenergy, led by researchers […]
In Illinois, there is growing interest in high-biomass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) as a bioenergy feedstock, but more information is needed to determine the most suitable varieties for the U.S. Midwest. This study by researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) evaluated and compared the yield potential of 13 sorghum […]
In Illinois, wet wastes, including food waste and biomass, are promising candidates for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production due to their triglyceride content, which can be converted into biocrude via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). SAF precursors must meet criteria derived from conventional fuels (e.g., Jet A), including complete oxygen removal to prevent jet engine corrosion and […]
In Illinois, a team of researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) have found a way to use robots to accelerate plant engineering. Researchers deployed a biofoundry – a laboratory that integrates robotics, computer-aided design, and information science. With this tool, they made genetically engineered plants that produced more oil in plant […]
In Illinois, building on their success developing a cleaner way to make valuable organic acids, researchers from the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) have pushed one product closer to commercialization with a major upgrade in yield. A CABBI team from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Princeton University re-engineered the metabolism of […]
