In the UK, the Telegraph reports that Kew Gardens researchers and an international team from 18 countries have discovered Aspergillus tubingensis can break down plastic in weeks rather than decades using its mycelia. The fungi was found in a Pakistani trash dump by Chinese scientists last year. The discovery was part of a larger publication […]
In Illinois, a University of Illinois crop scientist will lead a team of researchers on a five-year study of new crops that could contribute to the production of affordable, sustainable sources for market-ready fuels and other valuable products. They were awarded $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a study titled “Next-Generation […]
In Switzerland, EPFL researchers have developed a chemical method that stabilizes simple sugars and prevents them from being degraded. This method could mean that chemists no longer have to balance deconstruction of the plant with avoiding degradation of the product. The new method changes the chemical susceptibility of the sugars to dehydration and degradation by […]
In Germany, an international team of researchers has developed a new mechanism to protect enzymes from oxygen as biocatalysts in fuel cells. The enzymes, known as hydrogenases, are just as efficient as precious metal catalysts, but unstable when they come into contact with oxygen. They are therefore not yet suitable for technological applications. The new […]
In Minnesota, a team of energy researchers from the University of Minnesota and University of Massachusetts Amherst discovered that molecular motion can be predicted with high accuracy when confining molecules in small nanocages. Their theoretical method is suitable for screening millions of possible nanomaterials and could improve production of fuels and chemicals, including biofuels and […]
In Michigan, Michigan State University scientists have found a solution to enhance oil production and harvest using what many consider sea sludge. The new proof of concept, published in Biotechnology for Biofuels, is a biofuel production platform that uses two species of marine algae and soil fungi. It lowers cultivation and harvesting costs and increases productivity, […]
In Russia, a chemist from RUDN synthesized new catalysts with ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticles for producing biofuel from organic biowaste. Nanocatalysts support more intensive and sustained reactions than the compounds currently available in the market. The results of the study were published in the ChemSusChem journal. He works on the synthesis of gamma-valerolactone (GVL) together with his Chinese […]
In Sweden, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have identified two main challenges for renewable biofuel production from cheap sources. Firstly, lowering the cost of developing microbial cell factories, and secondly, establishing more efficient methods for hydrolysis of biomass to sugars for fermentation. Their study was recently published in the journal Nature Energy. It […]
In Australia, bacteria that turn sugar into hydrogen are being engineered by Macquarie University researchers who received a A$1.1 million grant from ARENA, the Australian government’s renewable energy agency. “There’s global interest in using hydrogen gas to produce electricity in hydrogen fuel cells, for example to power vehicles, heat buildings or provide electricity for industry,” […]
In Germany, a research project by the University of Rostock’s Chair of Piston Machines and Internal Combustion Engines (Lehrstuhl für Kolbenmaschinen und Verbrennungsmotoren), investigated to what extent modern diesel engines for agricultural machinery are suitable for long-term operation with biodiesel fuel according to EN 14214. The study showed how biodiesel can fulfill the strictest requirements […]
