Category: Research

Berkeley Lab, JBEI and Sandia researchers demonstrate next step in cellulosic biofuel production

July 21, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In California, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) working at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have demonstrated that adding carbon dioxide (CO2) gas during the deconstruction phase of biofuel production successfully neutralized the toxicity of ionic liquids, the room-temperature molten salt solvent used at […]

DOE grants $2.5 million to Texas A&M to study biorefinery waste

July 20, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In Texas, the U.S. Department of Energy has granted $2.5 million for a Texas A&M AgriLife Research study to find ways to use biorefinery waste to make new, marketable products. Researchers will focus much of the three-year study on ways to make plastic materials from the lignin waste. His lab has other energy department grants […]

Ek Laboratories develops drop-in JP-8 for military

July 19, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In Florida, Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc. announced that as the scientific and engineering team at subsidiary Ek Laboratories continues to optimize the CTS process for dry distiller’s grain (DDG) and various other cellulose biomass, the team has developed a pathway to produce JP-8, an advanced military grade aviation biofuel, at the suggestion of government officials […]

Researchers working on sorghum genetics to boost its use for bioenergy

July 18, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In Florida, new research examines how genetic improvement of specific sorghum traits, with an eye toward sustainability, could help maximize the usefulness of sorghum as a bioenergy crop. The work was conducted by researchers from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Washington State University in Pullman, the USDA-ARS in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the University of […]

Scientists in Cologne develop a more cost-efficient method to cultivate algae

July 17, 2016 | Jim Lane

In Germany, Professor Michael Melkonian and a team from the University of Cologne have developed a new method that could make the production of algae easier – and hence reduce the costs of the products based on this material. Their findings are published in the journal Trends in Biotechnology. The “Porous Substrate Bioreactor” (PSBR), also […]

Argonne National Laboratory models best counties benefit most from bioenergy crops

July 14, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In Illinois, to help stakeholders in government and business make smart decisions about the best types of land and local climates for planting bioenergy crops, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Argonne National Laboratory are using computational modeling to predict which counties could see increases in soil organic carbon from cultivation of crops […]

Texas A&M gets USDA grant to bridge businesses with ag producers for biodiesel

July 13, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In Texas, a researcher from Texas A&M has received a USDA grant to bridge small businesses with agricultural producers across the northeastern part of the state to produce biodiesel while also helping to support those seeking renewable energy system grants. The plan is to help integrate biodiesel as well as other renewables for agricultural use […]

2016 Billion-Ton Report shows sustainable biomass potential through 2040

July 12, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In Washington, the 2016 Billion-Ton Report, jointly released by the U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, concludes that the United States has the potential to sustainably produce at least 1 billion dry tons of nonfood biomass resources annually by 2040. These renewable resources include agricultural, forestry and algal biomass, as well as […]

Singaporean researchers hit the jackpot with GM yeast to produce butanol from food waste

July 11, 2016 | Meghan Sapp

In Singapore, researchers from the National University of Singapore have developed a genetically modified a type of Yarrowia lipolytica yeast that can produce butanol from fats in food waste, as much as half the weight of the original feedstock. Ten genes are added to the original yeast to produce the butanol, a process that also […]

Researchers uncover “unknown mechanism” for degrading cellulose; potential impact on cellulosic biofuels

July 10, 2016 | Jim Lane

In Washington, researchers found that C. thermocellum uses a previously unknown mechanism to degrade cellulose, in addition to other known degradation mechanisms. This discovery helps explain C. thermocellum’s superior ability to digest biomass and demonstrates the highly diverse strategies evolved in nature for biomass conversion. Researchers are using the study’s findings to develop optimal systems […]

Free Subscription

The Biofuels Digest newsletter

The most widely-read biofuels daily — 20,000+ organizations subscribe — why not you too?