In California, local press reports that researchers from the University of California at Santa Barbara together with those from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will image microbial processes used in waste-to-energy production as part of a $2.25 million Department of Energy grant aimed at improving biofuel production. They believe the guts of herbivores will provide […]
In New York state, plant scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), in their search for solutions to global food production challenges, have doubled the amount of grains that a sorghum plant can yield. Sorghum, one of the world’s most important sources of food, animal feed, and biofuel, is […]
In Indiana, Purdue University scientists developed remote sensing technology under the Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture (TERRA) program, through a $6.6 million U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) grant awarded in 2015. The agency is funding a second phase of the TERRA project at $4.5 million that is being matched with […]
In Illinois, ethanol plants typically use dry grind processing methods; however, implementing fractionation techniques that separate corn components prior to fermentation can improve profitability, a University of Illinois study shows. The researchers found that wet fractionation techniques designed for separating germ (containing maximum oil) and pericarp (the outer layer of the corn seed, containing mostly […]
In Germany, researchers at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have succeeded in equipping a catalyst with an extremely thin protective film of molecular building blocks, which shields it from oxygen and thus makes its life practically infinite. The catalyst still works efficiently. Oxygen threatens sustainable catalysts that convert hydrogen into fuel cells but researchers have developed a […]
In Iowa, Sundeep Vani has joined Iowa State University to serve in the newly created role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Biobased Products, part of the State of Iowa’s Biosciences-based economic growth initiative. In his role as CTO, Vani will serve as a conduit between research and industry. He will work closely with both […]
In Brazil, a study conducted in Brazil and published in the journal BioEnergy Research shows that removing straw instead of leaving it on the ground after the harvest could double the amount of fertilizer required by Brazilian sugarcane plantations by 2050. For the first time, researchers calculated the amount of nutrients retained by sugarcane straw […]
In Ireland, Tech Central reports that Scientific Foundation Ireland’s Centre for Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research has discovered a way to use whiskey to “exfoliate” one-atom thick graphene, which is seen as a potential “gamechanger” for electronics as graphene is one of the most durable materials in the world. “Whiskey is uniquely suited for stabilising […]
In the UK, the Counsel General and Brexit Minister visited Aberystwyth University last week to open the new Bio-refining Centre and Seed Biobank buildings at the University’s Innovation and Enterprise Campus. The minister who is responsible for EU funding in Wales announced a £3.7 million EU investment to extend the award-winning BEACON bio economy program, […]
