In North Carolina, researchers at the Forest Biotechnology Group at North Carolina State University are speeding up the process of engineering trees for specific needs in timber, biofuel, pulp, paper and green chemistry applications. Scientists can now predict the effects of altering 21 pathway genes involved in producing lignin a component of wood that needs […]
In Brazil, Brazilian and Colombian researchers have determined that expanding sugarcane ethanol production throughout Latin America could not only reduce fossil fuel imports but also provide green electricity through co-generation from bagasse providing economic benefits and savings of $35 billion over 10 years. With current molasses supplies, the researchers say Guatemala, Nicaragua and Cuba could […]
In Canada, Renaissance BioScience Corp. announced a new partnership with Mitacs for a multi-year, C$1.44-million research and development project. Mitacs, a national not-for-profit research and training organization, will provide matching funding to the RBSC project to support the development of next-generation, systematic tools and methods for expanding, screening and selecting biodiversity in non-GMO industrial yeast […]
In the UK, scientists have engineered an enzyme which can digest some of our most commonly polluting plastics, providing a potential solution to one of the world’s biggest environmental problems. The discovery could result in a recycling solution for millions of tons of plastic bottles, made of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, which currently persists for […]
In Brazil, production of second-generation (2G) ethanol from sugarcane requires enzymatic hydrolysis, in which enzymes from microorganisms act together to break down and convert the carbohydrates in sugarcane straw and bagasse into sugars capable of undergoing fermentation. Understanding the genetic mechanisms that regulate the control and production of hydrolytic enzymes by microorganisms is considered fundamental […]
In Virginia, a new study conducted by Virginia Tech on the disposal of wood pallets at landfill sites reveal that 95% of wooden pallets are being recycled. Wooden pallets get used, reused, and when they are no longer useful, they are converted to mulch, animal bedding or biofuel. Both municipal and solid waste (MSW) and […]
In Belgium, EU researchers designed and tested cell structures, cellulosomes, that help breakdown abundant biomass waste to produce value-added chemicals, such as advanced biofuels. Key to producing advanced biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass is the efficient conversion of the cellulose contained within cell walls into fermentable sugars – a major bottleneck for large-scale production. Efficient breakdown […]
In Massachusetts, researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute have determined that “red mud,” a waste product of aluminum refining, boosts energy recovery from food waste to 80% from the average 25% recovery using hydrothermal liquefaction or the 40% recently achieved using a metal oxide catalyst called cerium-zirconia. With a third of the food produced annually on […]
In Turkey, a European Union-funded project is helping researchers from Turkey, Slovenia, Spain, Italy, Germany and Latvia to further develop technology to produce biofuels from olive oil processing wastewater. The Rhodolive project looks to ferment the organic load of olive mill wastewater that can then be turned into biodiesel, animal feed and higher value products […]
In the UK, shipping industry needs to move to renewable and alternative fuels to reduce the sector’s impact on the environment. But there is no widely available fuel to manage climate change and local pollutants according to a recent study by researchers at The University of Manchester. How the shipping industry’s need to radically reduce […]
