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 […]
From Illinois, a study out after Christmas from the Energy Biosciences Institute at the University of Illinois looked at 21 species of short-rotation woody biomass, planted in 2010 and harvested and measured in 2011 and 2012. Of the 21, black locust, northern catalpa, flameleaf sumac, silver maple and sycamore proved to be the best short-rotation biomass […]
High on our popular poplar list, this study appeared this spring from Michigan State University and found that poplar trees genetically engineered for deconstruction may be a boon for biofuels. “By designing poplars for deconstruction,” says Curtis Wilkerson, “we can improve the degradability of a very useful biomass product. Poplars are dense, easy to store, and they […]
Two gems from the University of Illinois on miscanthus. First, this one that found that miscanthus and other biofuels crops actually reduce the escape of nitrogen into the environment, according to a study performed at the University of Illinois. The study compared miscanthus, switchgrass, and mixed prairie species against a traditional corn and soybean rotation, […]
In this study from Utah State, researchers concluded that microalgae-based biofuel not only has the potential to quench a sizable chunk of the world’s energy demands, say Utah State University researchers, it’s a potential game-changer. Researchers published findings from an unprecedented worldwide microalgae productivity assessment in the May 26, 2014, online Early Edition of the […]
From Australia, a new study that appeared last month from Future Farm Industries Co-operative Centre says that oil produced from local mallee trees could supply up to 5% of the country’s aviation fuel demand. To achieve that, just 1% of Western Australia’s Great Southern region would need to be planted with the trees and wouldn’t […]
