Category: Research

Berkeley Lab researchers show sustainable aviation biofuel can be competitive with A1 Jet

March 19, 2019 | Meghan Sapp

In California, a new analysis by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) shows that sustainable plant-based bio-jet fuels could provide a competitive alternative to conventional petroleum fuels if current development and scale-up initiatives continue to push ahead successfully. “Techno-economic analysis and life-cycle greenhouse gas mitigation cost of five routes to […]

Slovenia’s BioApp to become research focal point for developing smart biomass materials with Italy

March 18, 2019 | Meghan Sapp

In Slovenia, ERDF-funded BioApp platform has become the focal point for research ideas on developing smart biomass materials in the cross-border region of Slovenia and Italy. The EU produces over 25 tons of plastic waste every year. In response, Slovenian and Italian scientists have joined forces to develop the BioApp platform with funding from the […]

High-level switches that control wood formation have applications in biofuels

March 17, 2019 | admin

In North Carolina, researchers at North Carolina State University uncovered how a complex network of transcription factors switch wood formation genes on and off, which has applications for modifying wood properties for timber, paper and biofuels, as well as making forest trees more disease- and pest-resistant. The new study upends ideas about transcriptional regulatory networks […]

Berkeley Lab researchers use learn from beetle to improve cellulosic biofuel production

March 14, 2019 | Meghan Sapp

In California, new research from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) shows how one such beneficial insect common to the Eastern U.S., the long-horned passalid beetle (Odontotaenius disjunctus), has a hardy digestive tract with microbes to thank for turning its woody diet into energy, food for its young, and nutrients for […]

US Clean Energy Jobs Grow 3.6% to Nearly 3.3 Million

March 13, 2019 | Jim Lane

In Washington, nearly 3.3 million Americans now work in clean energy, according to a new analysis of energy jobs data by the national nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs). Across the country, nearly every state saw an increase in clean energy jobs in 2018, combining to add about 110,000 net new jobs for a growth […]

University of Groningen researchers discover new glycocin that could be future biofuel feedstock

March 13, 2019 | Meghan Sapp

In the Netherlands, University of Groningen microbiologists and their colleagues from Lithuania have discovered a new glycocin, a small antimicrobial peptide with a sugar group attached, which is produced by a thermophilic bacterium and is stable at relatively high temperatures. They also succeeded in transferring the genes required to produce this glycocin to an E. […]

University of Queensland teams with JBEI on gene editing technology in sugarcane

March 12, 2019 | Meghan Sapp

In Australia, gene-editing sugarcane for use in renewable energy and bio-plastics could help secure the industry’s future. Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation researchers at the University of Queensland supported by the US Joint BioEnergy Institute and Sugar Research Australia through an Australian Research Council Linkage grant are testing a range of sugarcane varieties […]

Eni signs R&D collaboration to produce hydrogen from non-recyclable plastic packaging waste

March 11, 2019 | Meghan Sapp

In Italy, Eni signed an agreement with COREPLA, the National Consortium for the Collection, Recycling and Recovery of Plastic Packaging, to launch research projects to produce hydrogen from non-recyclable plastic packaging waste. The agreement defines the joint working group that will, over the next six months, assess the launching of research projects to produce hydrogen […]

Engineered microbe may be key to producing plastic from plants

March 9, 2019 | admin

In Wisconsin, researchers at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and the Wisconsin Energy Institute have developed a strategy for employing the bacterium N. aromaticivorans to turn lignin into a more valuable commodity. This can help turn woody plants into a replacement for petroleum in the production of fuels, plastics and other chemicals. The bacterium, […]

Lawrence lab researcher 3D print live cells to convert glucose into ethanol

March 7, 2019 | Meghan Sapp

In California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have 3D printed live cells that convert glucose to ethanol and carbon dioxide gas (CO2), a substance that resembles beer, demonstrating a technology that can lead to high biocatalytic efficiency. Bioprinting living mammalian cells into complex 3D scaffolds has been widely studied and demonstrated for applications ranging from […]

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