From Kenya, a study from ICRAF this spring showed that jatropha isn’t a viable crop for the country because there is no market for the seeds, the values and yields are low, farmers don’t know how to grow it well and its early reputation as a miracle crop has destroyed most of the farmer appetite […]
Last month, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers working to produce ethanol from plant material took a hard look at eucalyptus as a possible source for the clean fuel. In their study, published online by the journal Applied Energy in April, they found that some eucalyptus had an increased sugar content, making […]
Some of the excitement around duckweed has faded – why, we’re not sure. But a band of researchers have ploughed on and from “The Second International Conference on Duckweed Research and Applications” last year, Prof. Dr. Eric Lam (Rutgers University and Conference Chair) and PD Dr. Klaus-J. Appenroth (University of Jena and Head of the […]
Here’s a report from Minnesota’s Agicultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) on Corn Cobs as Sustainable Biomass for Renewable Energy, A Field-to-Facility Demonstration and Feasibility Study. They report that “The corn cob field-to-facility project is a success in that it has demonstrated and documented the viability of corn cobs as a sustainable source of biomass for […]
A recent study provides information important to farmers growing oilseed crops. In the study, camelina and safflower were grown in three-year rotations with winter wheat and summer fallow. The study shows that using this rotation may require that no tillage should be done to the soil during the fallow year. Oilseed crops produce relatively little […]
In a shocker last month out of Pennsylvania, Farmatic now concludes that biogas can replace 50% of the US’s transportation fuel needs. Presented by Dr. Michael Schuppenhauer, President & CEO of Farmatic, the study is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and other research institutions. […]
In Utah, 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 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. […]
In Texas, researchers in the Texas A&M University soil and crop sciences department have been measuring greenhouse gases from biofuel production scenarios to help quantify the carbon footprint of a bioenergy cropping system and evaluate compliance with federally mandated reduction goals.
In France, DEINOVE has signed a collaborative R&D agreement with SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT Group. This two-year contract is the first step of a project aimed at exploring the potential for developing a new industrial sector for transforming urban organic waste into ethanol through the action of Deinococcus bacteria.
In Spain, Neiker-Tecnalia has demonstrated that Chlamydomonas acidophila microalgae can be successfully used to absorb ammoniacal nitrogen produced in effluent from anaerobic digestion of organic waste. By co-producing algae with biogas, the ammonium can be absorbed instead of released into the atmosphere, while the resulting algae can then also be used as a biogas feedstock, […]
