In Germany, natural fiber-reinforced plastics (NFRP) become more resilient when the natural fibers are encased in a special coating. This has been determined by researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI. Through the application of a resin layer and pressing to form a composite material, the NFRP exhibit improved mechanical, thermal and hygric properties and greater chemical […]
In California, algae could compete with petroleum as the fuel of the future if only the process of growing it was more efficient. Thanks to a fellowship from the Link Foundation, it soon could be. a doctoral student in plant biology at UC Riverside, is using the two-year, $60,000 fellowship to test whether she can […]
In California, Prometheus Fuels has licensed an ethanol-to-jet-fuel conversion process developed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The ORNL technology will enable cost-competitive production of jet fuel and co-production of butadiene for use in renewable polymer synthesis. The mission of Prometheus Fuels, a startup based in Santa Cruz, California, is […]
In Illinois, the University of Illinois has been awarded $4.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) through its “Systems for Monitoring and Analytics for Renewable Transportation Fuels from Agricultural Resources and Management” (SMARTFARM) program. The funding will be used to calculate farm-scale carbon credits, allowing individual farmers to understand […]
In Ohio, scientists have discovered a previously unknown way that some bacteria produce the chemical ethylene – a finding that could lead to new ways to produce plastics without using fossil fuels. The study, published in the journal Science, showed that the bacteria created ethylene gas as a byproduct of metabolizing sulfur, which they need […]
In New Jersey, a Princeton team has developed a class of light-switchable, highly adaptable molecular tools with new capabilities to control cellular activities. The antibody-like proteins, called OptoBinders, allow researchers to rapidly control processes inside and outside of cells by directing their localization, with potential applications including protein purification, the improved production of biofuels, and […]
In New York state, a research team at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) has a plan to turn waste into a green solvent for biofuel production. They concluded that lignin – a polymer deposited in the cell walls of many plants – has the potential to replace biomass processing solvent and drive […]
In India, the Indian Asian News Service reports that following two years of research, researchers from the National Sugar Institute in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur have produced methyl levulinate from sugarcane bagasse. The chemical is usually derived from levulinic acid that can cost as much as $11 per kilo per but producing it from bagasse at […]
In New York state, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), as a member of a mid-Atlantic consortium, has received $630,000 over five years from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop biomass systems and products with the potential to put abandoned lands and people back to work. The Mid-Atlantic Sustainable Biomass […]
In Texas, a team of scientists from nine universities and research facilities hope to find out how to make switchgrass — a fast-growing perennial native to the U.S. — into a biofuel powerhouse. It’s part of new project from the U.S. Department of Energy. In nature, switchgrass sequesters carbon underground in its roots, produces cellulose […]
