Category: Research

EU-funded GREENLAND project uses trees for toxic land clean up

EU-funded GREENLAND project uses trees for toxic land clean up

November 17, 2016 |

In Austria, researchers led by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna are coordinating the EU-funded project GREENLAND that in part aims to use trees such as poplars and willow to clean up superfund sites. Not only do the trees’ roots suck up polluted water but bacteria can also be added to […]

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University of Botswana trialing B10 using jatropha biodiesel

University of Botswana trialing B10 using jatropha biodiesel

November 16, 2016 |

In Botswana, the University of Botswana took its research program to loftier heights when it launched an experimental vehicle that uses biodiesel fuel on November 14, 2016. The vehicle uses blended fuel (B10) which is 90 per cent petroleum diesel (50PPM) and 10 per cent biodiesel produced by University of Botswana researchers. The launch was […]

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European researchers develop bio-based hybrid fuel cell

European researchers develop bio-based hybrid fuel cell

November 15, 2016 |

In Germany, researchers have developed a hybrid of a fuel cell and capacitor on a biocatalytic basis. With the aid of enzymatic processes, what’s known as a biosupercapacitor efficiently generates and stores energy. The trick: the enzymes are embedded in a stable polymer gel, which can store a large amount of energy. The scientists at […]

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Japanese researchers find cold-water fish gelatin makes ideal surgical sealants

Japanese researchers find cold-water fish gelatin makes ideal surgical sealants

November 14, 2016 |

In Japan, researchers at the University of Tsukuba have developed a technology to produce improved surgical sealants using gelatin of cold-water fish in particular (e.g. cod, hake, Alaska pollock and salmon) because the biomaterial basically makes the sealants waterproof. Tests performed on mice and pig tissue performed well, with the material biodegrading in eight weeks […]

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Stanford team hits 30% record for storing solar energy in hydrogen fuel

Stanford team hits 30% record for storing solar energy in hydrogen fuel

November 13, 2016 |

In California, Stanford University reports that an interdisciplinary team at Stanford has made significant strides toward solving the solar energy storage issue, demonstrating the most efficient means yet of storing electricity captured from sunlight in the form of chemical bonds. As Stanford observed in a release, “that stored energy can be recovered later in different […]

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University of Arkansas awarded grant to lead US-Southeast Asia bio research including biofuels

University of Arkansas awarded grant to lead US-Southeast Asia bio research including biofuels

November 10, 2016 |

In Arkansas, the University of Arkansas is helping lead an effort to develop a bioscience network of scientists in the United States and Southeast Asia. The National Science Foundation recently awarded a $500,000 grant to establish the Food, Energy, Water and Ecosystems Resources Research Coordination Network, to build a team of minority and minority-serving faculty […]

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Washington University researcher designs algorithm to determine with genes to alter to boost biofuel production

Washington University researcher designs algorithm to determine with genes to alter to boost biofuel production

November 9, 2016 |

In Missouri, a computer scientist at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a way to coax cells to do natural things under unnatural circumstances, which could be useful for stem cell research, gene therapy and biofuel production. Michael Brent, the Henry Edwin Sever Professor of Engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, […]

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German researchers lead EU project looking at CO2-based biofuel technologies

German researchers lead EU project looking at CO2-based biofuel technologies

November 8, 2016 |

In Germany, microbes are already used on a wide scale for the production of fuels and base chemicals, but for this most of them have to be “fed” with sugar. However, since sugar-based biotechnology finds itself in competition with food production, it is faced with increasingly fierce criticism. Carbon dioxide has meanwhile become the focus […]

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Indian researchers make breakthrough in Moringa development

Indian researchers make breakthrough in Moringa development

November 7, 2016 |

In India, the Advanced Biofuel Center says it has developed a new varietal of Moringa tree seed after several years research and trials. This varietal has been named Maru-Moringa(MOMAX3) due to the location of its discovery. The MOMAX3 cultivar is noteworthy for producing a very high quality of Moringa oil with five times more quantity […]

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Rapeseed prices rise sharply: report

Rapeseed prices rise sharply: report

November 6, 2016 |

In Germany, UFOP reports that the average price farmers received for rapeseed was at just under EUR 380 per tonne free storage facility, a level not seen since May 2014. The factors that contributed to supporting the rapeseed price originated, first and foremost, from overseas. German rapeseed prices have climbed continuously since the 2016 harvest […]

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