In Colorado, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a fast, simple process for making platinum “nano-raspberries”—microscopic clusters of nanoscale particles of the precious metal. The berry-like shape is significant because it has a high surface area, which is helpful in the design of catalysts. Even better news for industrial […]
In California, Genomatica announced significant progress in harnessing cellulosic biomass for commercial production of high-quality chemicals rather than just fuels. Genomatica’s work sets the stage to increase the range of feedstock choices for making chemicals using biotechnology. Through advances in strain engineering and process design, Genomatica has developed clear guidance for biomass pretreatment technology developers […]
In Italy, Bio-on announced its completion of another phase in the development of the technology for making PHAs from glycerol and today stands ready to grant licenses for this new technology to realise the first PHAs bioplastic production plants using biodiesel by-products. Bio-on technology now enables production facilities producing from 2,000 tons/year to 10,000 tons/year […]
In California, researchers at the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), a partnership led by the University of California (UC) Berkeley that includes Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the BP energy company have developed a process that can be used to selectively upgrade alkyl methyl ketones derived from […]
In Germany, rapeseed prices have risen sharply over the month on firm Paris prices and buoyant demand from processors, according to the latest data from UFOP. The group adds that supply in the cash market is scarce despite higher bids, while fears of crop failures caused by drought reduce producers’ interest in closing contracts. Demand […]
In Finland, UPM’s ValChem project has received EUR13.1 million funding from the European Union. The project will be done in cooperation with Sekab, METabolic EXplorer and Technische Universität Darmstadt. The total budget of the project is around EUR 18.5 million. ValChem (Value added chemical building blocks and lignin from wood) is an ambitious project combining […]
In Pennsylvania, researchers at the Center for Lignocellulose Structure and Formation headquartered at Penn State are working to break down the cell wall in plants for bioenergy by looking it how cell walls are made in the first place. The idea is that understanding how cell walls are made will make it easier for them to […]
In Finland, a 100% renewable energy matrix by 2050 would require doubling the current biofuel consumption, as well as investing heavily in solar and wind energy that would be stored as gas for use during winter months. A consortium of 20 researchers at the Lappeenranta University of Technology modeled 8 renewable energy options, some excluding […]
In California, researchers at the University of California’s Energy Biosciences Institute demonstrated that a sugarcane biorefinery could use natural synergies between various routes to produce a mixture of lubricant base oils and jet fuels that achieve net life-cycle greenhouse gas savings of up to 80%.
