In the UK, new research from the University of Bath’s Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies shows that waste coffee grinds could be used to make biodiesel. Oil can be extracted from coffee grounds by soaking them in an organic solvent, before being chemically transformed into biodiesel via a process called “transesterification”. The study, recently published […]
In Iowa, five years of soil nutrient data gathered at POET-DSM’s Project LIBERTY site are consistent with more than 500 site-years of additional soil research, experts at USDA and Iowa State University have determined. Those results show that biomass harvesting, which is now being done in the Emmetsburg, Iowa area, is consistent with proper farm […]
In North Carolina, Phytonix Corporation has been awarded a US patent for its biobutanol production technology entitled “Designer Organisms for Photobiological Butanol Production from Carbon Dioxide and Water. In addition, Phytonix’s IP portfolio includes biosafety guarded technology, which uses a number of redundant mechanisms to prevent the proliferation of our organisms outside of a chemicals […]
In Indiana, researchers from Duke University and Utah State University are raising money through crowdfunding platform Experiment to sequence the genome of a promising little fern called Azolla. Understanding this unique plant could be a huge step towards decreasing Earth’s CO2 levels, improving biofuel production, and lowering food prices.
In Iowa, Pure Oleochemicals, a University of Iowa spinout company, recently received early-stage funding from several private and public sources for its method of purifying agricultural oils for use in soaps, cosmetics, oils, and other consumer products. The company received funding from private investors, as well as $100,000 from the state of Iowa. The University […]
In Michigan, Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization Program for the Bio-Economy, launched by MSU and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, announces the first three BioAg projects selected for grants to help make them broadly available for consumer use. One of those grants includes funding for demonstrating the large scale production of bio-based chemicals using MSU’s […]
In the UK, researchers led by the University of York carried out a detailed investigation of how the enzymes use oxygen from the air to create a very reactive entity. This oxygen species then chips away at cellulose, allowing the difficult-to-degrade biomass to be broken down. The on-going York research into LPMOs, which is led […]
In Tennessee, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are hoping to optimize the production of terpene in eucalyptus plants, reducing the plant’s volatility and increasing energy yields. Researchers initially started with 15 species and will select the best candidates based on oil glands’ ultrastructure, number of oil glands per centimeter and terpene content and chemistry. […]
Fescue and orchard grass studies for biofuels are rare, so we couldn’t be happier to link back to this one from researchers at the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority, who are analyzing grasses that can be grown on marginal land but are also suitable for biofuel production. The GrassMargins project is analyzing tall fescue, […]
Just this week appeared a hot new study from Texas A&M AgriLife, where researchers concluded that “Bioenergy sorghum may offer more than another energy supply; it may offer a “sink” for greenhouse gases.” How’s that again? Researchers in the Texas A&M University soil and crop sciences department have been measuring greenhouse gases from biofuel production […]
