Category: Research

Rothamsted Research improves soil using biodiesel byproduct

Rothamsted Research improves soil using biodiesel byproduct

February 25, 2014 |

In the UK, Rothamsted Research scientists, who receive strategic funding from the BBSRC, have demonstrated that a by-product of the biodiesel industry shows potential to reduce nitrate leaching and so improve agricultural sustainability. The study is published at the journal Water Air and Soil Pollution. A criticism of biofuel production from oil crops is the […]

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Danish and Iraqi researchers use rice husk acid to produce cellulosic ethanol

Danish and Iraqi researchers use rice husk acid to produce cellulosic ethanol

February 24, 2014 |

In Denmark, researchers from Southern Denmark University with colleagues from the University of Baghdad and Al-Muthanna University in Iraq have developed an acid called RHSO3H made on the basis of rice husks that help to produce second-generation ethanol without the need for expensive enzymes.

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German biodiesel mostly comprised of rapeseed oil

German biodiesel mostly comprised of rapeseed oil

February 24, 2014 |

In Germany, UFOP determined that rapeseed oil is the most important raw material of the biodiesel component in diesel fuel, comprising 89% of the content based on investigation of the raw material composition of diesel fuel at public filling stations commissioned by UFOP. Palm kernel oil comprised 6% and palm and soya oil comprised 4 […]

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University of Greenwich researching pink algae for biofuels

University of Greenwich researching pink algae for biofuels

February 20, 2014 |

In the UK, bright pink-orange microalgae found in salt lakes and coastal waters could become a renewable source of food, plastics, health products and fuel as a result of new research announced this week. The University of Greenwich is leading a EUR10 million international project to develop the microalga Dunaliella as a sustainable raw material that […]

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Substance in Photosynthesis Was in Play in Ancient, Methane-Producing Microbes

Substance in Photosynthesis Was in Play in Ancient, Methane-Producing Microbes

February 19, 2014 |

In Virginia, researchers from Virginia Tech, Berkeley and other institutions have discovered that a process that turns on photosynthesis in plants likely developed on Earth in ancient microbes 2.5 billion years ago, long before oxygen became available. The research offers new perspective on evolutionary biology, microbiology, and the production of natural gas, and may shed […]

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LSU researchers team with MSU on energy cane and sweet sorghum

LSU researchers team with MSU on energy cane and sweet sorghum

February 18, 2014 |

In Louisiana, farmers growing crops in Louisiana and Mississippi may soon have two new crops to add to their portfolios. Researchers with the LSU AgCenter, Mississippi State University Cooperative Extension Service and the United States Department of Agriculture are working together to bring sugarcane and sweet sorghum north – way north – of Interstate 10. The […]

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EU biorefinery project shows biorefineries could generate 200,000 jobs by 2020

EU biorefinery project shows biorefineries could generate 200,000 jobs by 2020

February 17, 2014 |

In France, on February 13 2014, at a unique conference in Europe at the Ecole Centrale de Lille, Franck Dumeignil (CNRS), coordinator of the EuroBioRef project, revealed the results of this biorefinery of the future research programme. This General Assembly concluded four years of research that brought together 29 partners from 15 countries involved in […]

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Jatropha fertilizer toxin removal patented system for purchase

Jatropha fertilizer toxin removal patented system for purchase

February 17, 2014 |

In California, seven patents covering water treatment, algae, and food-related areas have been released for sale by Allen and Peter Schuh. After oil has been extracted from jatropha, the press cakes remaining have previously not been usable as human and animal nutrition because of the toxins lectins and phorbol esters, both components in the fertilizers […]

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University of Texas researchers produce biofuels from yeast and sugar

University of Texas researchers produce biofuels from yeast and sugar

February 13, 2014 |

In Texas, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering have developed a new source of renewable energy, a biofuel, from genetically engineered yeast cells and ordinary table sugar. This yeast produces oils and fats, known as lipids, that can be used in place of petroleum-derived products. The researchers’ platform produces the highest […]

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University of Hawaii at Mānoa teams with Pacific Biodiesel on wastewater

University of Hawaii at Mānoa teams with Pacific Biodiesel on wastewater

February 12, 2014 |

In Hawaii, Researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa are working with Maui based company Pacific Biodiesel to develop a way to make water from restaurant grease traps reusable. The collaboration is an example of a new type of partnership between local businesses and the state’s public university. UH developed a High Rate Anaerobic Digestion […]

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