Category: Research

DOE awards Microvi grant for innovative biogas conversion technology

DOE awards Microvi grant for innovative biogas conversion technology

October 16, 2016 |

In California, Microvi has been awarded a grant from the US Department of Energy for a new groundbreaking biocatalytic technology that converts methane and carbon dioxide in biogas into valuable liquid chemicals, the company announced today. The new technology, based on Microvi’s MicroNiche Engineering Platform Technology, can convert biogas that is created at facilities like […]

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ORNL researchers develops method to produce ethanol from CO2

ORNL researchers develops method to produce ethanol from CO2

October 13, 2016 |

In Tennessee, in a new twist to waste-to-fuel technology, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an electrochemical process that uses tiny spikes of carbon and copper to turn carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into ethanol. Their finding, which involves nanofabrication and catalysis science, was serendipitous. The team used a […]

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USDA ARS using giant electronic scanner to select best energy sorghum varieties

USDA ARS using giant electronic scanner to select best energy sorghum varieties

October 12, 2016 |

In Arizona, the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service is experimenting with a giant electronic scanner to study the individual characteristics of thousands of energy sorghum plants growing underneath it in work funded by the Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) known as Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture (TERRA). The work in Maricopa aims to speed […]

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CU Boulder researchers develop energy storage from brewery waste

CU Boulder researchers develop energy storage from brewery waste

October 11, 2016 |

In Colorado, CU Boulder engineers have developed an innovative bio-manufacturing process that uses a biological organism cultivated in brewery wastewater to create the carbon-based materials needed to make energy storage cells. This unique pairing of breweries and batteries could set up a win-win opportunity by reducing expensive wastewater treatment costs for beer makers while providing […]

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New Standard bioengineering center to include cell engineering to boost algae yields

New Standard bioengineering center to include cell engineering to boost algae yields

October 11, 2016 |

In California, two Stanford faculty are part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers who will share a $24 million Science and Technology Center grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant will found a bioengineering research and education center. SINDY TANG, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, said work at this center will reveal how […]

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Reverdia, Xinhuarun to develop microcellular foam shoe soles

Reverdia, Xinhuarun to develop microcellular foam shoe soles

October 9, 2016 |

  In the Netherlands, Reverdia and Dezhou Xinhuarun Technology (Xinhuarun) agreed  to jointly develop and promote Biosuccinium-based microcellular polyurethane (PU) foams. These new microcellular foams will be used in soles for footwear and further applications. Based in China, Xinhuarun’s products are exported across Asia, America, Europe and the Middle East. Produced since 2012, Biosuccinium is sold globally. The […]

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E85prices.com adds E15 to its options

E85prices.com adds E15 to its options

October 7, 2016 |

In Washington, the website E85prices.com, managed by the Renewable Fuels Association, is including E15 in its services. The website, a crowdsourced service, now allows consumers to toggle between E15 and E85, locating information and reporting prices on either fuel blend. The improvements also allow consumers to review E15 prices reported by others, price spreads for each state, […]

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Pigeons Can Learn to Visually Recognize Words

Pigeons Can Learn to Visually Recognize Words

October 6, 2016 |

In New Zealand, there is no doubt that Pigeons are one of the most interesting family of birds. A new study has highlighted that Pigeons (specifically Columba livia) can be trained to separate real words from non-words. According to researchers from University of Otago, the pigeons learn to differentiate based on the orthographic properties that […]

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Renewable Industries Canada hits back at Ecofiscal Commission study

Renewable Industries Canada hits back at Ecofiscal Commission study

October 5, 2016 |

In Canada, Renewable Industries Canada says the Ecofiscal Commission released a skewed, flawed and unacceptable report Oct. 4 calling on policymakers to rethink biofuels policies. The report, Course Correction—It’s Time to Rethink Canadian Biofuels Policies uses information that ignores independent biofuels cost benefit analyses and omits current government data and reports as the basis of […]

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Study says Canadian biofuels policies too expensive for the GHG emissions reductions

Study says Canadian biofuels policies too expensive for the GHG emissions reductions

October 4, 2016 |

In Canada, biofuel policies have helped to reduce GHG emissions, but according to a new report from Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission, these reductions have come at a significant cost. The report, Course Correction: It’s Time to Rethink Canadian Biofuel Policies, examines the extent to which biofuel policies have achieved their stated objectives, and whether these policies […]

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