In Washington state, rapidly growing bacteria that live in the ocean and can manufacture their own food hold promise as host organisms for producing chemicals, biofuels and medicine. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and The Pennsylvania State Univ. are closely studying one of these photosynthetic species of fast-growing cyanobacteria using advanced tools developed […]
In Massachusetts, new research may advance our understanding of “how the relative proportions of biopolymers,” like lignin, “are controlled in plant tissue”. The study, led by Sam Hazen at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was published in Nature on December 24th, and should assist future research that may allow manipulation of the xylem regulatory network […]
In China, research published in Biotechnology for Biofuels has shown a new production process that produces ethanol and lactic acid at the same time, which not only reduces the ethanol production cost but also provides a valuable byproduct. Raw poplar wood was the feedstock used in the research.
In Arkansas, the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority has approved grant funding for a UALR biology professor who says nanomaterials could increase the germination rate and biomass yield of bioenergy crops. Dr. Mariya Khodakovskaya, associate professor in the UALR Department of Biology, says the establishment of an effective system for the production of bioenergy crops in […]
In New York state, a researcher from Hofstra University has led a team that discovered a microbial conversion pathway using Clostridium clariflavum to better degrade xylan to xylooligomers and xylose which also appears to allow higher utilization of unused biomass. The research used switchgrass as feedstock.
In Mexico, researchers at the Technical Institute of Celaya say that using biodiesel made from used cooking oil in public transport can reduce pollution by up to 90%. What’s more, the research shows that by using vegetable oil-based fuel the engine is better lubricated and cleaner than by running on petroleum-based fuels. The institute is […]
In Georgia, Randy Dowdy has set the world record for corn yield with an average of 503 bushels per acre using DEKALB corn seed genetics. Dowdy achieved the record as part of the 2014 National Corn Growers Association’s (NCGA) 50th Annual National Corn Yield Contest. The Georgia growing season started off with challenging weather conditions. […]
In Massachusetts, researchers at Harvard have modified genes in bacteria so they produce the exact chemicals that they want to, including how much, reaching up to a 30-fold increase in yields with a process that’s nearly 1,000 times faster than current metabolic engineering methods.
In Malaysia, researchers at the Algae Research Lab in Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur are working with red algae to determine its suitability as feedstock for ethanol production. The species being tested is native to South Korea. Producing ethanol from agar, a byproduct after the algae is cooked, remains very expensive, however.
In Washington state, steam reforming turns methane from biomass into a mixture that can be further converted into transportation fuels. By combining experimental and theoretical approaches, researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Institute for Integrated Catalysis determined key properties of potentially more durable rhodium and iridium catalysts, which drive the reactions. Catalysts that […]
