Category: Research

NREL studies biodiesel stability in high-pressure common rail fuel systems

NREL studies biodiesel stability in high-pressure common rail fuel systems

February 2, 2016 |

In Colorado, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in conjunction with the Engine Manufacturers Association, Renewable Energy Group Inc., the National Biodiesel Board, VW and Mercedes conducted a study on biodiesel stability in high-pressure common rail (HPCR) fuel systems for diesel engines to help OEMs determine if current stability requirements for B6-B20 biodiesel blends are adequate […]

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Indian researchers patent “low cost” fractional hydrolysis technology

Indian researchers patent “low cost” fractional hydrolysis technology

February 1, 2016 |

In India, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee have patented a fractional hydrolysis technology they say produces low cost ethanol from a perennial weed known as Kans grass, typically used for thatching roofs. Using the process, scientists could recover over 43.78% cellulose and 24.22% hemicellulose from the Kans grass compared to 37% cellulose […]

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Cheaper algae for biofuels seen from new CO2 delivery method: research

Cheaper algae for biofuels seen from new CO2 delivery method: research

January 31, 2016 |

In Australia, chemical and biomolecular engineers from the Melbourne School of Engineering have discovered a new way to deliver carbon dioxide to microalgae, which in turn, can be harvested to make renewable fuels such as biodiesel. Carbon dioxide is well known to speed up the growth of microalgae. Published in the research journal, Energy and […]

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Researchers break through on oil production in yeast using advanced gene-editing tool

Researchers break through on oil production in yeast using advanced gene-editing tool

January 31, 2016 |

In California, a team led by a researcher at the University of California, Riverside has adapted the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system for use in a yeast strain that can produce useful lipids and polymers. The development will lead to new precursors for biofuels, specialty polymers, adhesives and fragrances. Published recently in the journal ACS Synthetic […]

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Argonne study looks at water sustainability in light of cellulosic biofuel production

Argonne study looks at water sustainability in light of cellulosic biofuel production

January 28, 2016 |

In Illinois, Argonne National Laboratory released a study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) that examines the potential effects of future biofuel production on freshwater resources in the Missouri River Basin—a region that could play a central role in the production of cellulosic biomass like switchgrass, a perennial energy crop. […]

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Drexel University researchers see opportunity in algae for wastewater treatment facilities

Drexel University researchers see opportunity in algae for wastewater treatment facilities

January 27, 2016 |

In Pennsylvania, a blob of algae scooped from a fountain on South Street almost two years ago, has seeded a crop of the green stuff that Drexel University researchers claim is more effective at treating wastewater than many of the processes employed in municipal facilities today. The algae is a functional ingredient of a bioreactor […]

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UC Riverside researchers edit yeast genes to produce lipids and polymers

UC Riverside researchers edit yeast genes to produce lipids and polymers

January 26, 2016 |

In California, a team led by a researcher at the University of California, Riverside has adapted the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system for use in a yeast strain that can produce useful lipids and polymers. The development will lead to new precursors for biofuels, specialty polymers, adhesives and fragrances.Published recently in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology, the […]

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Australian researchers develop new way to deliver CO2 to microalgae

Australian researchers develop new way to deliver CO2 to microalgae

January 25, 2016 |

In Australia, chemical and biomolecular engineers from the Melbourne School of Engineering have discovered a new way to deliver carbon dioxide to microalgae, which in turn, can be harvested to make renewable fuels such as biodiesel. Carbon dioxide is well known to speed up the growth of microalgae. However, the carbon dioxide has to be free […]

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National Energy Technology Laboratory grants license for CO2 capture for better biofuel production

National Energy Technology Laboratory grants license for CO2 capture for better biofuel production

January 21, 2016 |

In Pennsylvania, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has granted a license for two patented sorbent technologies that capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from streams of mixed gases and enable cleaner, more-efficient energy production from renewable fuels. The license was granted to renewable energy systems developer CogniTek Management Systems through the company’s MG Fuels. Sorbents are […]

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Masdar’s halophyte aviation biofuel project to launch in March

Masdar’s halophyte aviation biofuel project to launch in March

January 21, 2016 |

In the UAE, the Sustainable Biofuel Research Consortium’s long-awaited halophyte aviation biofuel project will at last launch in March. Eight fields over two hectares will be fed with nutrient rich wastewater from fish and shrimp production that will grow native Salicornia plants. The project will run for three years and then will be scaled up […]

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