Category: Research

Ghent University researchers develop process to produce lactic acid from grass

Ghent University researchers develop process to produce lactic acid from grass

April 3, 2017 |

In Belgium, researchers at Ghent University have developed a process that turns grass into fuel. Scientists at the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University have developed a way to turn grass into biofuel. Grass is first pretreated to increase biodegradability. Then enriched bacteria are utilized to convert the sugars in the grass […]

Read More

AkzoNobel, ABT and EY launch bio-based monitor

AkzoNobel, ABT and EY launch bio-based monitor

April 2, 2017 |

In the EU, a new online tool which can track the use of bio-based raw materials in products has been launched as a pilot by project partners AkzoNobel, Advanced Biochemical (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (ABT) and EY. It will be the first ever tool to use e-certification to track bio-based content along the value chain. Many […]

Read More

OriginClear inks pact with Florida Atlantic University for landfill “black water” treatment

OriginClear inks pact with Florida Atlantic University for landfill “black water” treatment

April 2, 2017 |

In California, OriginClear signed a Master Research Agreement with Florida Atlantic University for further scientific research and validation projects pertaining to OriginClear’s technology, Electro Water Separation with Advanced Oxidation, when applied to landfill leachate treatment. When rain or ground water flows through municipal and industrial waste landfill, leachate drains from the landfill as “black water”. […]

Read More

WSU Tri-Cities and PNNL researchers make cellulose breakthrough that could cost biofuel production costs

WSU Tri-Cities and PNNL researchers make cellulose breakthrough that could cost biofuel production costs

March 30, 2017 |

In Washington state, researchers at Washington State University Tri-Cities and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have found a new way to define the molecular structure of cellulose, which could lead to cheaper and more efficient ways to make a variety of crucial bioproducts. For the first time, researchers revealed the differences between the surface layers and […]

Read More

Malaysian palm oil industry says its R&D paved the way for higher blends

Malaysian palm oil industry says its R&D paved the way for higher blends

March 29, 2017 |

In Malaysia, the palm oil board lashed back at the economist who said the country and industry hadn’t invested sufficiently in biodiesel research, leaving the country behind other major players. The board’s head of R&D said the industry had been investing in projects since the 1980s, starting with the first continuous process biodiesel pilot facility […]

Read More

Australian Paper teaming with CSIRO on major lignin biorefinery

Australian Paper teaming with CSIRO on major lignin biorefinery

March 28, 2017 |

In Australia, Australian Paper is teaming with CSIRO to bolt on bio-manufacturing technologies to utilize lignin removed from pulp production to make paper. The company already has a 50MW biomass power plant that will serve as the cornerstone of the project that is expected to attract over A$100 million in investment over two phases and […]

Read More

Sierra Energy building MSW gasification demo plant at California Army base

Sierra Energy building MSW gasification demo plant at California Army base

March 27, 2017 |

In California, Sierra Energy has teamed with the Army to trial its FastOx Gasifier technology that turns MSW into hydrogen for use in vehicles, carbon monoxide for electricity production and liquid metal as well as slag for reuse in other industries. The demo is being built at the Army’s Fort Hunter Liggit following initial testing […]

Read More

WSU, PNNL researchers find new way to characterize cellulose, advance bioproducts

WSU, PNNL researchers find new way to characterize cellulose, advance bioproducts

March 26, 2017 |

In Washington state, researchers at Washington State University Tri-Cities and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have found a new way to define the molecular structure of cellulose, which could lead to cheaper and more efficient ways to make a variety of crucial bioproducts. For the first time, researchers revealed the differences between the surface layers and […]

Read More

Benson Hill Biosystems, CTC validate multiple product candidates in Setaria viridis model crop

Benson Hill Biosystems, CTC validate multiple product candidates in Setaria viridis model crop

March 26, 2017 |

In Missouri, Benson Hill Biosystems and Brazil’s Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira have validated multiple product candidates in Setaria viridis model plant system and CTC officials said that the milestone increases the probability of success in sugarcane since the photosynthetic systems of the two plants are very similar. The next phase is to validate the genes’ efficacy […]

Read More

BASF licenses CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing technology from the Broad Institute

BASF licenses CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing technology from the Broad Institute

March 26, 2017 |

In North Carolina, BASF reached a global licensing agreement with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard for the use of CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing technology to improve products in agricultural and industrial microbiology applications. The technology advances genome editing because it has the potential to be a simpler and more precise tool for making targeted changes […]

Read More