In Mexico, a researcher from the Science Institute of the Autonomous University of Puebla is known as the winner of the biodiesel race for having developed methods to reduce production cost by 90% by pairing solar power with biodiesel in order to offset the high energy demand during long periods that biodiesel production requires. Catalysts […]
In Wisconsin, a six-year Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) study on the viability of different bioenergy feedstocks recently demonstrated that perennial cropping systems such as switchgrass, giant miscanthus, poplar, native grasses, and prairie can yield as much biomass as corn stover. The study is significant for beginning to address one of the biofuel industry’s […]
In Maryland, researchers at the University of Maryland have been awarded a patent that ferments biomass or gaseous CO2 and H2 into hexane and octane much like beer with the use of natural microorganisms. This follows a patent that uses a similar technique to produce ethanol but this time directly into hydrocarbon components. The microorganisms […]
In Maryland, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued patent number 9,217,161 for a process to ferment biomass or gases directly to hydrocarbons like hexane and octane. The process belongs to the electrofuels family — technologies involving microorganisms that could use hydrogen or electricity to convert carbon dioxide to liquid fuels. In this process, the […]
In Wisconsin, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) at UW-Madison has teamed with a local high school on a bioprospecting project that is teaching students how to discover new potential production pathways for biofuels. Students have collected potentially yeast-bearing materials from around their campus to try to identify the right yeast to boost production […]
In Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory published an article in Scientific Reports on its new method to directly convert biomass-derived ethanol to a hydrocarbon blendstock and is continuing work with Vertimass, LLC. to commercialize it. The Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) provided funding for the Oak Ridge research beginning in 2011. Oak Ridge licensed […]
In Washington, the DOE announced its intent to issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) entitled “MEGA-BIO: Bioproducts to Enable Biofuels.” This FOA supports BETO’s goal of meeting its 2022 cost target of $3/gallon gasoline equivalent for the production of hydrocarbon fuels from lignocellulosic biomass. One approach BETO […]
In Missouri, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center announced that it will be part of a major collaborative research project to improve sorghum’s productivity under resource-limited conditions. The research should lead to strategies to increase plant biomass as well as more water use- and nutrient-efficient sorghum crop systems. The five- year $13.5M project is funded by […]
In Utah, Utah State University has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research Phase II contract with Salt Lake City based Technology Holding LLC from the U.S. Army to continue research and development of Spider Silk manufacturing. The total contract award is $1 million and is managed through the Army Research Office. Among the goals […]
In Massachusetts, Lux Research is reporting that innovative pricing and service models will be key to the success of sensor applications in agriculture. “With farmers facing price variability and other uncertainties,” said Lux, “ few are able or willing to risk significant capital on sensing technologies, which can help make more efficient use of soil, […]
