In California, a University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering professor is one of the authors of a paper recently published in Science that outlines ways companies can commercialize and profit from what was thought to a waste product created when producing biofuels. In the paper, the researchers outline the discovery of genetic variants […]
In North Carolina, The N.C. Bioenergy Research Initiative recently awarded $500,000 in grants for six new research projects to boost bioenergy opportunities and production in the state, according to Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “We are excited to have the opportunity to explore bioenergy potential through these grants for North Carolina’s agricultural and forestry industries,” said […]
In the UK, the EnAlgae team has published a paper implying that algae are currently no more productive than palm oil. The authors explain that whilst technologies may be improving, algae physiology remains the limiting factor to achieving higher productivity and that the only way to remedy this is through genetic modification. Authors Phil Kenny […]
In California, researchers from UC Berkeley reviewed a collection of recent literature that mapped bioenergy potential on marginal lands at varying scales, and found that there is no common working definition of marginal land across all of these works. Specifically, they found considerable differences in mapped results that are driven by dissimilarities in definitions, model […]
In Pennsylvania, scientists at Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences have found that glycerol from biodiesel production can act as a potential alternative to the hazardous antifungal agents currently being used to combat one of the most damaging cacao diseases, Phytophthora pod rot (also known as Black Pod), responsible for an estimated 20 […]
Scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are using the National Science Foundation-supported Stampede supercomputer to improve biofuel production by determining how certain enzymes break down cellulose (plant cell walls). In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in January 2014, they describe a newly-discovered, naturally-occurring enzyme modeled with […]
In Texas, Rice University chemical engineer Michael Wong has spent a decade amassing evidence that palladium-gold nanoparticles are excellent catalysts for cleaning polluted water, but even he was surprised at how well the particles converted biodiesel waste into valuable chemicals. Through dozens of studies, Wong’s team focused on using the tiny metallic specks to break […]
In Canada, Resolute and Mercer are collaborating on developing commercial applications for cellulose filaments. The two members of the Forest Products Association of Canada will be using the filaments to enhance the performance characteristics of a wide variety of products. Cellulose filaments optimize the strength, stability, flexibility and longevity of a variety of materials including […]
In Montana, Montana State University is the lead institution on a new $10 million, four-year project to form a research center focused on innovative energy research. The Biological Electron Transfer and Catalysis (BETCy) Energy Frontiers Research Center (EFRC) will be based at MSU. Participants from seven institutions will form an integrated team to conduct basic […]
In Brazil, the demand for alternative energy sources has led to an increase in biofuel crops. A new “News and Views” paper in Nature Climate Change, co-authored by Woods Hole Research Center scientists Marcia Macedo and Eric Davidson, reviews new research conducted by Brazilian colleagues demonstrating the high carbon costs of converting intact Brazilian savanna […]
